L Brands Reports March 2016 Sales
07 April 2016 - 9:15PM
— ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ACTIONS AT
VICTORIA’S SECRET —
L Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LB) reported net sales increased 5% to $1.027
billion for the five weeks ended April 2, 2016, compared to net
sales of $981.2 million for the five weeks ended April 4,
2015. Comparable sales for the five weeks ended April 2,
2016, increased 3% and were negatively impacted by the earlier
Easter this year by approximately 1 to 2 points.
The company reported net sales of $1.876 billion
for the nine weeks ended April 2, 2016, an increase of 5% compared
to sales of $1.787 billion for the nine weeks ended April 4,
2015. Comparable sales for the nine weeks ended April 2,
2016, increased 4%.
The company also announced changes at Victoria’s
Secret designed to further focus the brand on its core merchandise
categories and streamline operations. These actions
include:
- Restructuring the organization into three business units:
Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, PINK and Victoria’s Secret
Beauty. The leaders of these business units will continue to
report directly to Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and CEO.
- Integrating the direct business as a primarily digital channel
within the Victoria’s Secret and PINK businesses to align with how
customers engage with the brands.
- Focusing resources on core merchandise categories, where the
company believes the greatest growth potential exists. This will
involve the elimination of certain merchandise
categories.
- Evolving how the business connects with customers through more
focus on loyalty programs and brand-building engagement rather than
traditional catalogues and offers.
- Streamlining the organization through the elimination of
approximately 200 Columbus and New York home office
associates.
“Coming off a record year, now is the best time
to make improvements … going from best to even better,” said
Wexner. “We are making these changes to accelerate our growth
and to strengthen the business for the long term by narrowing our
focus and simplifying our operating model. I am certain that these
changes are necessary for our industry-leading brands to reach
their significant potential … nonetheless, decisions about people
are the most difficult ones to make, and we are taking care to
support associates who are being affected by these changes.”
Further detail and information about the ongoing
impact of these actions will be provided on the company’s first
quarter earnings call on May 19.
To hear further commentary provided on L Brands’
prerecorded March sales message, call 1-866-639-7583, or log onto
www.LB.com for an audio replay.
ABOUT L BRANDS:
L Brands, through Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath
& Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel, is an international
company. The company operates 3,005 company-owned specialty
stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and its
brands are sold in more than 700 additional franchised locations
worldwide. The company’s products are also available online
at www.VictoriasSecret.com, www.BathandBodyWorks.com,
www.HenriBendel.com and www.LaSenza.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995
We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)
contained in this press release or the March sales call or made by
our company or our management involve risks and uncertainties and
are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are
beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and
financial results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied in any such forward-looking statements. Words such as
“estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “planned,” “potential” and any similar expressions may
identify forward-looking statements. Risks associated with the
following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in
the future could affect our financial performance and actual
results and could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements
included in this press release or the March sales call or otherwise
made by our company or our management:
- general economic conditions, consumer confidence, consumer
spending patterns and market disruptions including severe weather
conditions, natural disasters, health hazards, terrorist
activities, financial crises, political crises or other major
events, or the prospect of these events;
- the seasonality of our business;
- the dependence on mall traffic and the availability of suitable
store locations on appropriate terms;
- our ability to grow through new store openings and existing
store remodels and expansions;
- our ability to successfully expand internationally and related
risks;
- our relationships with independent franchise, license and
wholesale partners;
- our direct channel businesses;
- our ability to protect our reputation and our brand
images;
- our ability to attract customers with marketing, advertising
and promotional programs;
- our ability to protect our trade names, trademarks and
patents;
- the highly competitive nature of the retail industry and the
segments in which we operate;
- consumer acceptance of our products and our ability to keep up
with fashion trends, develop new merchandise and launch new product
lines successfully;
- our ability to source, distribute and sell goods and materials
on a global basis, including risks related to:
- political instability, significant health hazards,
environmental hazards or natural disasters;
- duties, taxes and other charges;
- legal and regulatory matters;
- volatility in currency exchange rates;
- local business practices and political issues;
- potential delays or disruptions in shipping and transportation
and related pricing impacts;
- disruption due to labor disputes; and
- changing expectations regarding product safety due to new
legislation;
- our geographic concentration of supplier and distribution
facilities in central Ohio;
- fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
- stock price volatility;
- our ability to pay dividends and related effects;
- our ability to maintain our credit rating;
- our ability to service or refinance our debt;
- our ability to retain key personnel;
- our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified employees
and manage labor-related costs;
- the ability of our manufacturers to deliver products in a
timely manner, meet quality standards and comply with applicable
laws and regulations;
- fluctuations in product input costs;
- fluctuations in energy costs;
- increases in the costs of mailing, paper and printing;
- claims arising from our self-insurance;
- our ability to implement and maintain information technology
systems and to protect associated data;
- our ability to maintain the security of customer, associate,
supplier or company information;
- our ability to comply with regulatory requirements;
- legal and compliance matters; and
- tax matters.
We are not under any obligation and do not intend to make
publicly available any update or other revisions to any of the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the
March sales call to reflect circumstances existing after the date
of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of future events
even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected
results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements
will not be realized. Additional information regarding these and
other factors can be found in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our 2015
Annual Report on Form 10-K.
L BRANDSMARCH
2016
Comparable Sales Increase (Decrease):
|
MarchTotal company
comps(including direct sales) |
|
Year-to-dateTotal company
comps(including direct sales) |
|
2016 |
|
2015 |
|
2016 |
|
2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Victoria’s Secret
Stores1 |
|
2 |
% |
|
|
6 |
% |
|
|
3 |
% |
|
|
5 |
% |
Bath & Body
Works1 |
|
5 |
% |
|
|
9 |
% |
|
|
7 |
% |
|
|
7 |
% |
L
Brands2 |
|
3 |
% |
|
|
7 |
% |
|
|
4 |
% |
|
|
6 |
% |
1 – Results include company-owned stores in the United States
and Canada and direct sales.2 – Results include company-owned
stores in the United States, Canada and the UK and direct
sales.
|
MarchStore only comps |
|
Year-to-dateStore only
comps |
|
2016 |
|
2015 |
|
2016 |
|
2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Victoria’s Secret
Stores1 |
|
0 |
% |
|
|
9 |
% |
|
|
2 |
% |
|
|
8 |
% |
Bath & Body
Works1 |
|
2 |
% |
|
|
9 |
% |
|
|
4 |
% |
|
|
7 |
% |
L
Brands2 |
|
1 |
% |
|
|
9 |
% |
|
|
3 |
% |
|
|
7 |
% |
1 – Results include company-owned stores in the United States
and Canada.2 – Results include company-owned stores in the United
States, Canada and the UK.
Total Company-Owned Stores:
|
|
Stores |
|
Stores |
|
|
Operating |
Operating |
|
|
at 1/30/16 |
Opened |
Closed |
at 4/2/16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Victoria's Secret
U.S. |
|
990 |
2 |
|
(2 |
) |
990 |
PINK U.S. |
|
128 |
- |
|
- |
|
128 |
Victoria's Secret
Canada |
|
37 |
- |
|
- |
|
37 |
PINK Canada |
|
9 |
- |
|
- |
|
9 |
Total Victoria’s
Secret |
|
1,164 |
2 |
|
(2 |
) |
1,164 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bath & Body Works
U.S. |
|
1,574 |
1 |
|
(1 |
) |
1,574 |
Bath & Body Works
Canada |
|
98 |
- |
|
- |
|
98 |
Total Bath &
Body Works |
|
1,672 |
1 |
|
(1 |
) |
1,672 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Victoria’s Secret
U.K. |
|
12 |
- |
|
- |
|
12 |
PINK U.K. |
|
2 |
1 |
|
- |
|
3 |
Henri Bendel |
|
29 |
- |
|
- |
|
29 |
La Senza Canada |
|
126 |
- |
|
(1 |
) |
125 |
Total L Brands
Stores |
|
3,005 |
4 |
|
(4 |
) |
3,005 |
L Brands:
Investor Relations
Amie Preston
(614) 415-6704
apreston@lb.com
Media Relations
Tammy Roberts Myers
(614) 415-7072
communications@lb.com
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