Victoria Beckham has revealed the incredible way she was able to turn around her fashion brand’s fortune after her husband David refused to continue bailing her out.
The 51-year-old designer launched her fashion label in 2008 but after frivolous spending she quickly began to make a loss and was forced to rely on handouts from David Beckham to bail her out.
Yet it soon became impossible for David to continue funneling money into her business, which reported losses of £66 million.
Speaking on her self-titled Netflix show, Victoria explained that she approached businessman David Belhassen, confessing: ‘I really was desperate, not just for the money but for everything else he could bring.’
Belhassen explained: ‘Victoria was not looking for a partner that would just put in money, she needed a partner that knew the business, understood her dream and was capable of making it happen.’
However, he was reluctant to step in, recalling: ‘When I looked at the business, talked to people, I realised this was a very, very difficult situation, it was a disaster. Frankly, I had never seen something as hard as that to fix.’
Victoria Beckham has revealed the incredible way she was able to turn around her fashion brand’s fortune after her husband David refused to continue bailing her out
The 51-year-old designer launched her fashion label in 2008 but after frivolous spending she quickly began to make a loss and was forced to rely on handouts from David Beckham
As a result, Belhassen announced he wouldn’t be able to help Victoria, a move that left the designer ‘heartbroken’.
Yet Victoria’s fortunes changed due to a chance date night between Belhassan and his wife.
He revealed: ‘I go out with my wife on the Saturday night and I see her – stunning! And I said: “what are you wearing?”‘
He then learnt that she was wearing Victoria Beckham and that she was buying ‘tons’ of the ‘amazing’ brand.
‘And the flame lit there,’ he explained. ‘It became like a fire. And on Monday, I gathered the team and we say “we have to do it, if we fail, we fail”
‘So we signed, and Victoria was very emotional and she told me “I won’t let you down.”‘
In 2023, Victoria finally started making a profit for the time in 15 years – with an £890 clutch bag, a £30 eyeliner and a carefully orchestrated social media strategy which saw her post make-up tutorial videos on TikTok credited with the turnaround.
Yet businessman Belhassen explained that he also helped by reining in her excessive spending habits.
Yet it soon became impossible for David to continue funneling money into her business, which reported losses of £66 million, so she approached businessman David Belhassen (pictured)
In 2023 she finally started making a profit for the time in 15 years – with an £890 clutch bag, a £30 eyeliner and a carefully orchestrated social media strategy credited with the turnaround
‘So I went her and I decided to just tell the truth, exactly the way it is, and I didn’t know how she’d react,’ he said.
‘I said, “Victoria we have to change everything, restructure the business, and that’s gonna be painful”, and when I finished she just listened and she left a little silence.’
Victoria explained: ‘I took it on the chin, it was hard hearing those things. I hadn’t been to business school, I’d come from an entertainment background.
‘I didn’t realise it at the time but the waste was mind-blowing.’
Her husband David, who invested millions into his wife’s ailing brand, also reflected on the fear he felt when he could see the numbers spiralling.
‘It made me panic, David confessed. ‘I was panicked by it because I never saw anything coming back.
We always agreed that we would support each other no matter what but it worried me. It wasn’t sustainable.’
Victoria added: ‘There was a lot of waste, we were millions of pounds in the red.
‘I didn’t know what to do and I was so desperate to save this business that I cared so much about.
‘I felt like I was breaking down myself. I felt embarrassed… I was in a hole, it felt like I was in quicksand.’
Victoria’s Netflix show comes from the makers of Beckham and Michelle Obama’s Becoming, following the success of husband David’s docuseries
Reflecting on the chats they had about finances, David continued: ‘Part of that conversation broke my heart because Victoria is a very proud woman.
‘When we met, Victoria was a lot richer than me. She bought our first house in Herfordshire – Beckingham Mansion.
‘So for her to have to come to me and say we need some more money, that was hard for both of us, because I didn’t have the money to keep doing this.’
Victoria’s Netflix show comes from the makers of Beckham and Michelle Obama‘s Becoming, following the success of husband David’s docuseries.
It delves deep into her fashion brand and followed her in the runup to her Paris Fashion Week show last September.
England football legend David, whom Victoria wed in 1999, already found huge success with his Netflix documentary Beckham last year, in which Victoria starred.
David recently admitted the new documentary ‘wasn’t the easiest thing to get her to agree to’ but gushed that Victoria is ‘unbelievably hard-working and very clever’ and the world deserves to see that.
Victoria Beckham is streaming on Netflix now.
