Briefing.com uses cookies to store information on your computer that is essential to making the site work and to customizing the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our cookie policy to learn more and how to withdraw your consent.     
You must subscribe to access archives older
than one year.
Take a free trial of Briefing In Play® now.
Subscribe Here
TERMS OF USE

The Briefing.com RSS (really simple syndication) service is a method by which we offer story headline feeds in XML format to readers of the Briefing.com web site who use RSS aggregators. By using Briefing.com’s RSS service you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions contained in these Terms of Use, we do not consent to provide you with an RSS feed and you should not make use of Briefing.com’s RSS service. The use of the RSS service is also subject to the terms and conditions of the Briefing.com Reader Agreement which governs the use of Briefing.com's entire web site (www.briefing.com) including all information services. These Terms of Use and the Briefing.com Reader Agreement may be changed by Briefing.com at any time without notice.

Use of RSS Feeds:
The Briefing.com RSS service is provided free of charge for use by individuals, as long as the feeds are used for such individual’s personal, non-commercial use. Any other uses, including without limitation the incorporation of advertising into or the placement of advertising associated with or targeted towards the RSS Content, are strictly prohibited. You are required to use the RSS feeds as provided by Briefing.com and you may not edit or modify the text, content or links supplied by Briefing.com. To acquire more extensive licensing rights to Briefing.com content please review this page.

Link to Content Pages:
The RSS service may be used only with those platforms from which a functional link is made available that, when accessed, takes the viewer directly to the display of the full article on the Briefing.com web site. You may not display the RSS content in a manner that does not permit successful linking to, redirection to or delivery of the applicable Briefing.com web site page. You may not insert any intermediate page, “splash” page or any other content between the RSS link and the applicable Briefing.com web site page.

Ownership/Attribution:
Briefing.com retains all ownership and other rights in the RSS content, and any and all Briefing.com logos and trademarks used in connection with the RSS service. You are required to provide appropriate attribution to the Briefing.com web site in connection with your use of the RSS feeds. If you provide this attribution using a graphic we require you to use the Briefing.com web site logo that we have incorporated into the Briefing.com RSS feed.

Right to Discontinue Feeds:
Briefing.com reserves the right to discontinue providing any or all of the RSS feeds at any time and to require you to cease displaying, distributing or otherwise using any or all of the RSS feeds for any reason including, without limitation, your violation of any provision of these Terms of Use or the terms and conditions of the Briefing.com Reader Agreement. Briefing.com assumes no liability for any of your activities in connection with the RSS feeds or for your use of the RSS feeds in connection with your web site.

Briefing.com
Subscribers Log In
 
  • HOME
  • OUR VIEW
    • Page One
    • The Big Picture
  • ANALYSIS
    • Premium Analysis
    • Story Stocks
  • MARKETS
    • Stock Market Update
    • Bond Market Update
    • Market Internals
    • After Hours Report
    • Weekly Wrap
  • CALENDARS
    • Upgrades/Downgrades
    • Economic
    • Stock Splits
    • IPO
    • Earnings
    • Conference Calls
    • Earnings Guidance
  • EMAILS
    • Edit My Profile
  • LEARNING CENTER
    • About Briefing.com
    • Ask An Analyst
    • Analysis
    • General Concepts
    • Strategies
    • Resources
    • Video
  • COMMUNITY
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Google+
  • SEARCH
Login | Archive | EmailEmail |
HOME > Analysis >Story Stocks >L Brands will close its Henri...
Story Stocks® Archive
Last Update: 14-Sep-18 09:03 ET
L Brands will close its Henri Bendel segment to improve profits and focus on its larger brands (LB)

L Brands (LB 28.62, +1.18, +4.32%) is up slightly on news it will close some stores in order to enhance shareholder value. The company has been struggling in 2018, and that has been reflected in its stock price, which has fallen from $63 in late December 2017 to close yesterday at $27.44.

While you may not be familiar with the corporate parent L Brands, its retail stores and brands are well-known names. LB owns Victoria's Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works, La Senza, and Henri Bendel. It operates 3,084 company-owned specialty stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Greater China. An additional 800+ franchised locations worldwide also make those brands available to consumers.

The company has evolved from an apparel-based retailer to a segment leader focused on women's intimate wear and other apparel, personal care, beauty, and home fragrance products. Its flagship Victoria's Secret, including PINK, the iconic women's intimate brand featuring celebrated supermodels and a world-famous fashion show, is a specialty retailer of women's intimate and other apparel with fashion-inspired collections and prestige fragrances. Its products are sold online and at more than 1,200 Victoria's Secret and PINK stores.

Bath & Body Works, which sells products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, C.O. Bigelow, and other brand names, is one of the leading specialty retailers of body care, home fragrance products, soaps, and sanitizers. La Senza is a retailer of women's intimate apparel with an especially strong presence in Canada. Henri Bendel sells handbags, jewelry, and other accessory products.

Turning to today's news, LB says it will close all 23 of its Henri Bendel stores and the Henri Bendel website in January 2019, basically after the holiday season. The stores include the company's Fifth Avenue flagship store as well as smaller-format stores in 11 states. All stores and the website will remain in operation through January 2019 with new merchandise continuing to arrive through the holiday season.

The company has decided to stop operating Bendel to improve company profitability and focus on its larger brands that have greater growth potential. LB estimates that Henri Bendel 2018 revenue and operating loss, excluding closing costs, will be approximately $85 mln and $45 mln, respectively.

Just last month, the company lowered its full year EPS guidance to $2.45-2.70 from $2.70-3.00, principally driven by a deceleration in PINK. And in its most recent earnings report, LB said its strong performance at Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret Beauty offset weak results at PINK and Victoria's Secret Lingerie. LB says it's not satisfied with this result and is focused on improving performance at Victoria's Secret.

Perhaps a catalyst will be a change at the top. LB recently announced that Denise Landman, CEO of Victoria's Secret PINK, has made the decision to retire at the end of this year. This is pretty big news as Landman has been part of the PINK brand since its inception and has been with L Brands for nearly 20 years.

Amy Hauk, currently President for Merchandising and Product Development of Bath & Body Works, will replace Landman as CEO of Victoria's Secret PINK. Hauk joined Bath & Body Works in 2008 as Senior VP, General Merchandise Manager. Prior to that, she held senior merchant leadership positions at The Children's Place, The Disney Store, Gap, and Macy's. LB says Ms. Hauk is a master merchant with deep knowledge and capabilities. LB feels she is well-equipped to lead the PINK team as she has a track record of accurately identifying what's next in the market. Since joining Bath & Body Works 10 years ago, she has built a solid, talented merchant team.

The decision to close the Henri Bendel segment seems like the right one. It will allow LB to focus more on its other brands, which quite frankly, need some attention. Hiring a new CEO at its Victoria's Secret PINK segment seems like a good idea as well as sales have started to stagnate. Hopefully a new perspective there will re-ignite that brand and get the stock moving higher again.

L Brands (LB 28.62, +1.18, +4.32%) is up slightly on news it will close some stores in order to enhance shareholder value. The company has been
 
Add this to my Page Alerts.
MARKET PLACE
SPONSORED LINKS
 
  Follow Us On Linkedin  
 
 
LOGIN

CONTACT US
Support
Sitemap
PREMIUM SERVICES
Take a Tour
Compare Services
Request a Demo
INSTITUTIONAL SALES
ADVERTISING

CONTENT LICENSING

EMAILS & NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
Our Experts
Management Team

COMMUNITY
MEDIA
Events
News
Awards
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Cookie Policy
Reader Agreement
Policies
Disclaimer
Copyright © Briefing.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Close
You must log in or register to access this area.
Tip of the Day
Virtual Url Page Popup