Victoria’s Secret Is Closing 250 Stores in North America

May 23, 2020
Technology

Victoria’s Secret Is Closing a Quarter of Its Stores Nationwide — A Victoria’s Secret store in New York City. Shutterstock

Those who plan on booking it to the mall when it’s safe to do so might be surprised to find out that their Victoria’s Secret and/or Bath Body Works location has closed its doors for good.

On an earnings call on Thursday, May 21, the parent company of both brands announced that it’s closing 250 Victoria’s Secret stores in North America in 2020. That equates to close to a quarter of its locations in the U.S. and Canada.

“We would expect to have a meaningful number of additional store closures beyond the 250 that we’re pursuing this year,” said Victoria’s Secret CEO Stuart Burgdoerfer. “Meaning there will be more in 2021 and probably a bit more in 2022.”

This decision comes as Victoria’s Secret sales continue to plummet amid the pandemic.

The company previously made a $525 million agreement with private equity firm Sycamore Partners to take the lingerie giant private. But the deal was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

L brands isn’t giving up. “We are taking the necessary steps to prepare the Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, Victoria’s Secret Beauty and PINK businesses to operate as a separate, standalone company,” said the company in a statement.

The lingerie brand isn’t the only store that’s being impacted. L Brands also owns Bath Body works. The company will also permanently be closing 50 of the beloved bath store chain, even though sales have been good recently.

The company hasn’t revealed which store locations will be closing just yet. It has, however, disclosed that temporary store closures due to the pandemic are expected to be lifted in July.

This news comes just a few weeks after J. Crew filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parent company J.Crew Group intends on reorganizing its debts to get a fresh financial start. Lenders are converting approximately $1.65 billion of J.Crew’s debt into equity to set the brand in motion.

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