L Brands has been through a rocky couple of years. The US company will complete the separation of its two major businesses – Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works – in August.
The worldwide surge in self-care and pampering has resulted in a 10 per cent increase in Q4 for the multinational with net sales reaching US$4.8 billion. A 22 per cent uptick in sales at Bath & Body Works over the period was a major driver of overall revenues.
Bath & Body Works operates five stores in Australia – the QVB, DFO Homebush and Westfield Parramatta in Sydney, Westfield Chermside in Brisbane and Chadstone in Melbourne – and a thriving online business.
The fourth quarter performance saw Bath & Body Works enjoy a 74 per cent surge in direct channel sales, pushing its total Q4 revenues to US$2.718 billion – up from US$2.23 billion for the same period last year.
L Brands full-year net sales rose to US$11.847 billion. Bath & Body Works also boasted a strong sales surge in Q3, lifting its full-year sales to US$6.43 billion by contrast to US$5.355 billion in 2019.
“Following our record third quarter results, the exceptional efforts and execution of our team enabled us to deliver another record performance in the fourth quarter”, notes Andrew Meslow, CEO of L Brands. “We experienced consistent strength at Bath & Body Works, along with continued significant improvement in performance at Victoria’s Secret.”