Victoria's Secret is closing 20 stores this year
- Victoria's Secret is closing 20 stores this year as sales drop and the brand comes under pressure.
- A spokesperson for Victoria's Secret told Business Insider that the company has not yet announced which stores will be closing.
- The news comes after parent company L Brands reported its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Same-store sales at Victoria's Secret, which also includes the Pink brand, were down by 1%.
Victoria's Secret is closing 20 stores this year as sales drop and the brand comes under pressure.
In a call with investors on Thursday, Stuart Burgdoerfer, CFO of parent company L Brands, said that Victoria's Secret would be closing 20 stores this year.
So far, six stores have closed in 2018. Three will open.
A spokesperson for Victoria's Secret told Business Insider that the company has not yet announced which stores will be closing.
The news comes after Victoria's Secret's parent company, L Brands, reported its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Same-store sales at Victoria's Secret, which also includes the Pink brand, were down by 1%.
Pink, which was formerly one of the brand's sweet spots, has struggled recently. CEO Denise Landman said that same-store sales for this brand alone were down in the mid-single digits.
"While management is citing fashion misses, we think there are structural, brand-related issues at hand here, especially with American Eagle's Aerie posting recent same-store sales in excess of 30%," Jefferies analyst Randy Konik wrote in a note to investors on Thursday.
Landman will be retiring at the end of the year and will be replaced by Amy Hauk, who is currently head of merchandising and product development at Bath & Body Works.
Konik is skeptical of the brand's new leadership.
"We question whether an exec without apparel expertise is the right person to lead Pink at a time when merchandise and brand issues need to be corrected," he wrote.