Columbus-based retailer Limited Brands beat Wall Street expectations for February, reporting a comparable-store sales rise of 3 percent, beating analysts’ predictions of a 2.6 percent rise.
The company, parent of such chains as Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported sales of $712.7 million for the month, compared to sales of $653.9 million for the same time last year.
Comparable-store sales, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, grew by 5 percent at both Victoria’s Secret and the company’s Canadian lingerie chain La Senza. Since buying La Senza in 2006, Limited Brands has changed virtually everything about the chain and closed some stores in an effort to turn around the brand’s flagging sales.
At Bath & Body Works, comparable-store sales were flat. The chain usually does better, but February sales were affected by fewer customers walking into the stores, said Chief Investor Relations Officer Amie Preston.
Sales at Victoria’s Secret Direct, which includes both the popular catalogue and online businesses, fell by 4 percent. The drop was the result of a reduction in clearance selling, Preston said.
Easter Sunday falls in March this year, versus April last year, and the company expects that will have a negative impact on sales this month. “We are projecting March (comparable-store sales) in line with our quarterly guidance of low single digit,” Preston said.
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