Business Insider/Mary Hanbury
- Victoria’s Secret announced that it is closing 53 stores in North America this year.
- Its parent company, L Brands, reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and same-store sales at Victoria’s Secret were down 3%.
- The brand has struggled in recent years — sales have slipped, and its provocative ads are being criticized by some as being tone deaf in the era of #MeToo.
- We visited one of its stores to trial the shopping experience first hand.
Victoria’s Secret announced Wednesday that it will be closing as many as 53 stores in North America this year. This follows 30 closings in 2018
The news came after the lingerie giant’s parent company L Brands, released its fourth-quarter earnings results. Same-store sales for Victoria’s Secret were down 3% for the quarter and overall for 2018.
Read more: Victoria’s Secret is closing dozens of stores
A spokesperson for L Brands told Business Insider that the company has not yet released a list of store closings.
We visited one of its stores on Thursday morning to find out what it is like to shop there:
The store we visited is located in downtown Manhattan, New York in the World Trade Center Westfield mall.
Business Insider/Mary Hanbury
The mall, which opened in 2016, is classified as a Class A mall, which is determined by the sales-per-square foot of its tenants.
The reviews online are extremely positive. "Probably one of the best Victoria‘s Secret stores I have ever been [to]," one shopper wrote.
"The customer service here is spectacular," another said.
For this reason we were expecting a shiny version of a typical Victoria’s Secret store.
It lived up to expectations. Out first impression was good – the store was well organized and the inventory was neatly laid out. However, it wouldn’t take much for this to descend into chaos; piles of inventory are a recipe for disaster in busier times.
Business Insider/Mary Hanbury
A "Body by Victoria" display was front and center at the entrance.
This was surprising. In the company’s third-quarter earnings call in November, CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer said that these bras along with its Angels collection had seen weaker sales, which he blamed on lack on innovation with the bra. We would expect to see the best products at the front.
We were also surprised to find that despite its the standard bulk buying deals on panties, there were no sales signs anywhere.
Business Insider/Mary Hanbury
Wall Street has been critical of the level of promotions in Victoria’s Secret stores in the past. One analyst said he believed its sister brand Pink was on the "precipise of collapse," because of the level of promotions.
In a call with investors on Thursday, Burgdoerfer addressed this problem but said that it will "take a while" to reduce promotional levels.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Victoria’s Secret is closing dozens of stores
- Starbucks opened a massive four-story location in Japan that serves cotton candy-topped lattes and cocktails
- Walmart has gobbled up a slew of brands since 2010 — and it’s all part of a strategy to take on Amazon and win over millennials
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Mary Hanbury)