(Filed Under Financial and General Interest News). “Victoria’s Secret stores North America June comparable store sales increased 3% driven by increases in lingerie and Pink” while June sales at Victoria’s Secret direct rose 6% over the same month last year, according to Amie Preston, chief investor relastions, at parent company L Brands.
The Victoria’s Secret portion of L did better than the company as a whole where comparable store sales increased just “2 percent for the five weeks ended July 5, 2014,” according to the company’s June sales release. L Brands also owns Bath & Body Works, La Senza and Henri Bendel and its brands are sold in about 600 franchised locations around the world.
Overall, the firm reported “net sales of $1.176 billion for the five weeks ended July 5, 2014, an increase of 7 percent, compared to net sales of $1.101 billion for the five weeks ended July 6, 2013.” It also reported “net sales of $4.331 billion for the 22 weeks ended July 5, 2014, an increase of 6 percent compared to sales of $4.106 billion for the 22 weeks ended July 6, 2013. Comparable store sales increased 2 percent for the 22 weeks ended July 5, 2014.”
Preston, in remarks about the June sales release, said that at Victoria’s Secret direct “go-forward core category sales” which refer to bras and other intimate apparel, “increased in the mid-teens” in June, but those gains were offset by a huge drop in “non-go-forward apparel merchandise” where “sales decreased by roughly 30%.” Last month the company announced it would be eliminating a significant of the apparel it has offered for years in its direct channel.
Preston explained that at Victoria’s Secret stores “the merchandise margin rate was up slightly to last year” for the five weeks, adding that at Victoria’s Secret direct “the June merchandise margin rate was down significantly to last year, driven by increased promotions in apparel.”
Looking ahead, Preston said Victoria’s Secret stores in July “will focus on our Very Sexy collection in lingerie. In Pink, we will be transitioning at the end of the month to focus on back to school.”
“In closing, we expect a low single digit comp increase for the total company in July.”
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