Anywhere in Asia. Lighter skin indicates a higher social standing in a majority of those countries. Stems from the belief that you didn’t have to work out in the fields and therefore wouldn’t be exposed to the sun. My aunt is constantly sending me beauty products over from Thailand and they’re without fail they always have some sort of lightening/bleach component. India is probably one of the biggest “culprits” of this. Bleaching is very heavily promoted as part of their beauty standard.
Re: VS online sales. I don’t know if it’s the same in the states, but you currently can’t return online purchases in store in Canada, which I know personally disaudes me from purchasing online. A majority of places I shop online allow returns in their store fronts, so you don’t have to worry about paying shipping/shipping things back on time if there are fit or quality issues. If VS really wants to capitalize on online sales, I think that would be a great step for them to take. I know I would purchase a lot more online if that were the case, as size and colour selections can be better than in store.