L Brands is still on a negative sales streak at Victoria’s Secret.
The brand operator said net sales for the four weeks ended Aug. 26 fell 1 percent to $842.1 million on comparable-store sales that fell 4 percent, compared with a year ago. Sales have fallen every month this year.
Lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret accounts for the decline, with a 7 percent drop in comp sales, including online. Gains of 4 percent at Bath & Body Works were not enough to make up the difference.
As the company has every month this year, L Brands cited its decision more than a year ago to exit swim and a majority of apparel at Victoria’s Secret for a bulk of the sales declines.
Chief investor relations officer Amie Preston also noted during a brief call with financial analysts a “decline in the lingerie business.”
Going into September, Preston said Victoria’s Secret will have some new products, as will its more casual sister line Pink. Still, the company expects comp sales to be down for the month in the low-single digits.
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So far this year, L Brands has seen net sales decline by 5 percent totaling $46.03 billion and total comp sales fall by 5 percent. Year-to-date comp sales at Victoria’s Secret have fallen 13 percent, compared with a 2 percent gain over this time in 2016.
Despite the continued negative trend, shares of L Brands ticked up just over 1 percent in morning trading to $36.45.
Shares fell to a five-year low earlier this month when L Brands revealed its second-quarter financials, showing a 45 percent drop in net income to $138.9 million for the quarter and sales that were down 4.7 percent to $2.75 billion.
New Victoria’s Secret president and chief executive officer Jan Singer said at the time that she’s running an “offense” to turn the brand around, including a shift in product that will again focus more on constructed bra styles and changes to the brand’s marketing strategy.
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