Victoria’s Secret plans to permanently close approximately 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada in 2020, its parent company L Brands announced Wednesday.
L Brands also plans to permanently close 50 Bath & Body Works stores in the U.S. and one in Canada, according to information the company posted online as part of its quarterly earnings. L Brands will discuss its earnings with analysts Thursday morning.
L Brands’ total company sales declined 37% in the quarter that ended May 2. Almost all of the company’s stores have been closed since March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news comes a day after Pier 1 Imports announced plans to shutter all its remaining stores and two days after J.C. Penney unveiled it will close 242 stores as part of its bankruptcy.
Victoria’s Secret has 1,091 stores in the U.S. and Canada with 909 U.S. Victoria’s Secret stores and 144 Pink stores. The company says it will close 235 U.S. Victoria’s Secret and three Pink stores. It also plans to close 13 of its 38 stores in Canada.
In February, L Brands announced a deal to sell 55% of Victoria’s Secret to Sycamore Partners, a New York private equity firm. After the pandemic struck, Sycamore went to court to back out of the deal and in early May, both parties called it off.
