(Filed Under wholesale Lingerie News). Driven by strong direct to consumer business, comparable sales for Victoria’s Secret and Pink rose 1% in North America after suffering a 13% decline last March. Store sales, however, were down for the month.

Comp store sales for the two brands in North America declined 3% for the month, compared to a 12% decline in March 2017.

Overall, combined comp sales for Victoria’s Secret and Pink in North America have been up every month since January.

Explaining the results for March, which the firm defined as the five week period ending April 7, 2018, Amie Preston, chief investor relations for parent company L Brands, stated, “Victoria’s Secret March comparable sales were up 1% with solid growth in beauty and modest growth in lingerie, partially offset by a decline in Pink. In Pink, lingerie continues to comp positively and we are seeing improvements in key segments of the loungewear business. The decline was principally driven by swim, which we are in the process of exiting. The merchandise margin rate was down significantly to last year driven by additional promotional activity in order to drive traffic.”

L Brands as a whole (which also includes the La Senza lingerie chain in Canada and the U.S., as well as Bath & Body Works and Henri Bendel) reported “net sales increased 7 percent to $1.020 billion for the five weeks ended April 7, 2018, compared to net sales of $951.4 million for the five weeks ended April 1, 2017. Comparable sales for the five weeks ended April 7, 2018, increased 4 percent compared to the five-week period ended April 8, 2017.”

“The company reported net sales of $1.874 billion for the nine weeks ended April 7, 2018, an increase of 9 percent compared to sales of $1.717 billion for the nine weeks ended April 1, 2017. Comparable sales for the nine weeks ended April 7, 2018, increased 3 percent compared to the nine-week period ended April 8, 2017.”

Preston added, referring to Victoria’s Secret and Pink, “In April we will continue to deliver new fashion with Summer Angel in lingerie and loungewear in Pink.”

A chart accompanying the sales report noted that between February 3, 2018 and April 7, 2018, the company opened one and closed two Victoria’s Secret stores in the U.S., arriving at a total of 983. During the same period it closed one Pink store in Canada, dropping the total there to six. Totals for Victoria’s Secret stores in Canada remained the same at 39, as did the number of Pink stores in the U.S. at 140. As of April 7 there were 19 company-owned Victoria’s Secret stores in the U.K. and Ireland; five Pink stores in the U.K.; seven Victoria’s Secret stores in China; 119 La Senza stores in Canada; and five La Senza stores in the U.S. — NM

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Published 04-12-2018 by Nick Monjo