Victoria’s Secret to close 23% of its North American stores

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Victoria’s Secret said it will close 251 stores in North America by the end of this year. That’s roughly 23% of its stores.

More store closures could happen in the coming years, Victoria’s Secret interim CEO Stuart Burgdoerfer said on a call with analysts May 21.

The company did not list specific stores that would close.

Victoria’s Secret has 20 stores in Indiana, including eight in the Indianapolis area.

Burgdoerfer also said that parent L Brands Inc. expects Victoria’s Secret stores that closed for the pandemic will reopen by the end of July.

L Brands on May 20 reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $296.9 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Columbus, Ohio-based company said it had a loss of $1.07. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 99 cents per share.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 71 cents per share.

The owner of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and other chain stores posted revenue of $1.65 billion in the period, which also missed Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.7 billion.

L Brands shares have dropped 33% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has declined 8%.

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