L Brands Issues Statement in Response to Barington Capital
06 March 2019 - 5:15AM
L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB) today confirmed receipt of a letter from
Barington Capital Group, L.P. The Company issued the following
statement:
L Brands welcomes open communications with our
shareholders and values input that may advance our goal of
enhancing shareholder value.
L Brands is focused on bringing merchandise to
market that aligns with consumer trends around the globe,
proactively managing our real estate assets and maintaining a
disciplined approach to our cost structure and deployment of
capital. The Company, in consultation with its financial advisors,
has made significant changes in its business to focus resources on
core categories to enhance performance and accelerate growth. These
actions include:
- Closure of Henri Bendel;
- Sale of the La Senza business;
- Reduction of our regular dividend by half to normalize the
payout and free up capital to reduce debt levels and invest in the
business;
- Promotion of Amy Hauk to run PINK and the appointment of John
Mehas to lead Victoria’s Secret Lingerie;
- New product launches in Lingerie, PINK and Beauty, including a
new online Swim assortment in March;
- Disciplined and proactive management of inventory, expenses,
real estate and capital structure; and
- Heightened focus on the customer and our merchandise
assortments at Victoria’s Secret Lingerie and PINK, including a
review of all aspects of brand marketing and communications.
L Brands is committed to creating long-term
shareholder value by delivering growth, strengthening its financial
performance and building its leading market positions, and we will
continue to take actions that we believe will enable us to achieve
this objective.
ABOUT L BRANDS:L Brands,
through Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works, is an
international company. The company operates 2,943
company-owned specialty stores in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom and Greater China, and its brands are also sold in
more than 650 franchised locations worldwide. The company’s
products are also available online at www.VictoriasSecret.com and
www.BathandBodyWorks.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 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 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 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 manage
the life cycle of our brands, 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 vendor 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 associates
and manage labor-related costs;
- the ability of our vendors to deliver products in a timely
manner, meet quality standards and comply with applicable laws and
regulations;
- fluctuations in product input costs;
- our ability to adequately protect our assets from loss and
theft;
- 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,
third-party or company information;
- our ability to comply with regulatory requirements;
- legal and compliance matters; and
- tax, trade and other regulatory 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 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 2017 Annual Report on Form
10-K.
For further information, please
contact:
L Brands:Investor Relations
Amie Preston
(614) 415-6704
apreston@lb.com
Media RelationsTammy Roberts Myers(614)
415-7072communications@lb.com
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