LB - L Brands Holiday Same-Store Sales Rose 5%

L Brands (NYSE: LB), parent company to Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, announced its same-store sales throughout the holiday season rose 5% in comparison to the 3% fall it experienced the prior year. Amid the ongoing pandemic consumers found themselves stocking up on lounge wear, hand soap and candles before the new year.

Bath & Body Works experienced a sales growth of 17% within the nine-weeks period ending January 2 as customers bought soaps, lotions and hand sanitizers. However Victoria’s Secret continues to struggle and its sales fell 9%. L Brands has plans to separate the two brands this year.

According to CEO Andrew Meslow, the company’s holiday outcome “significantly exceeded our initial expectations,” as its strategy to reduce promotions and sell most products at full price was effective.

“Bath & Body Works continues to deliver record results, demonstrating the strength of the brand,” Meslow said in a statement.

“The turnaround at Victoria’s Secret also continues to gain momentum, driven by an improved merchandise assortment and focused execution of retail fundamentals and our profit improvement plan,” Meslow added.

The retailer is projecting fourth-quarter earnings to be between USD2.70 and USD2.80 per share. Analysts had anticipated earnings of 1.96 per share, according to Refinitiv data. Furthermore, the company estimated revenue to be USD3.84 Billion, while analysts had called for USD4.74 Billion.

L Brands is set to report fourth-quarter earnings on February 24.

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