Bath & Body Works leads rising sales at L Brands in May

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 7, 2018

Columbus, Ohio-based fashion retail group L Brands, Inc. saw net sales increase 10% in May 2018, driven by strong comps growth at its self-care chain.
 

The retail group’s net sales for the month totaled $851.9 million, compared to the $774.3 million reported in May 2017, a rise driven primarily by a comparable sales increase of 5% in the period.

Once again, Bath & Body Works was the group’s best performer, posting a 10% rise in comparable sales, while Victoria’s Secret only saw a 2% increase.

Indeed, the lingerie chain’s store-only comps actually fell 2% in the period, although this is still an encouraging improvement when compared with the 11% drop the brand saw in May 2017. Store-only comps at Bath & Body Works grew 7%, partially offsetting the decrease at Victoria’s Secret to guarantee a 1% increase for the group’s overall store-only comparable sales.
 
The month’s sales progress very much follows the trajectory laid out by the results L Brands reported for the first quarter ended May 5, 2018, when comparable sales increased 3%, with Bath & Body Works leading the way with an 8% rise. Net sales for the period were up 8% to $2.626 billion, while earnings fell 50% to $47.5 million.
 
L Brands opened 17 locations in May and closed 21, finishing the month with 3,071 company-owned stores across the US, Canada, Greater China, the UK and Ireland.
 
The company’s current guidance for fiscal 2018 forecasts earnings per share (EPS) of between $2.70 and $3.00. EPS for Q2 2018 is expected to be in the range of $0.30 to $0.35.