L Brands Sells La Senza Lingerie to Private-Equity Firm
December 13 2018 - 11:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang
Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc. is selling lingerie
business La Senza to private-equity firm Regent LP, further
slimming down the number of brands under its umbrella.
Financial terms weren't disclosed Thursday. L Brands said it
could earn additional money from Regent if La Senza is later
sold.
The La Senza sale comes as L Brands has taken other steps to
change its business, including closing the handbag and accessories
retailer Henri Bendel after the holiday season. Chief Executive
Leslie Wexner has said he wants to focus on the company's bigger
brands.
In selling La Senza and eliminating Henri Bendel, L Brands will
still have the brands Victoria's Secret, PINK and Bath & Body
Works. Sales from those three brands dwarf the sales that L Brands
rings up from La Senza and Henri Bendel.
La Senza is expected to generate $250 million in revenue and a
$40 million operating loss this year, L Brands said. There were 118
La Senza stores in Canada and 11 in the U.S. as of Nov. 3.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect L Brands to have sales of
$7.35 billion in fiscal 2018.
Most of L Brands' revenue comes from retailer Victoria's Secret.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the CEO of the
lingerie division at Victoria's Secret, Jan Singer, was leaving.
The company then announced Tory Burch president John Mehas would
take over the job in early 2019.
Third-quarter net sales for L Brands rose 6% from a year ago to
$2.78 billion. The company posted a loss of $43 million, compared
with a profit of $86 million in the year-earlier period.
Shares of L Brands were down 0.4% in morning trading.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2018 10:50 ET (15:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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