10.25.21
L Brands is #8 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies.
Below is a look at the company's 2021 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
Corporate Sales (Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret)
$11.8 billion
Beauty Sales (Bath & Body Works)
$6.4 billion
Key Personnel
Sarah Nash, chairman, Andrew Meslow, chief executive officer, Julie Rosen, president, Bath & Body Works, Greg Unis, chief executive officer, Victoria’s Secret Beauty, Wendy Arlin, chief financial officer, Bath & Body Works
Major Products/Brands
Bath & Body Works personal care, Victoria’s Secret fine fragrances and cosmetics, Pink cosmetics
New Products
Bath & Body Works: The Pride Collection; Cucumber Melon, Pineapple Mango, Coconut Colada and Strawberry Kiwi Gentle Foaming Hand Soaps; Victoria’s Secret: Bombshell Oud fragrance
Comments
Following the executive shakeup and departure of Leslie Wexner, L Brands’ controversial longtime chairman and CEO, this marks the final year the name “L Brands” will appear in Beauty Packaging’s annual Top 20. As of August 2021, the company completed the separation of its Victoria’s Secret business, now a new company called Victoria’s Secret & Co., and has officially dropped the L Brands name in favor of a new identity: Bath & Body Works, Inc.
In her address to shareholders, Sarah Nash, chair of the board, lauded the actions L Brands took that led to record third and fourth quarter results, increased liquidity and a year-end cash balance of $3.9 billion. In March 2021, the Board authorized the repayment of more than $1 billion in debt, a $500 million share repurchase program and the reinstatement of their annual dividend at $0.60 per share—all of which helped position the Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret businesses for separation in August.
CEO Andrew Meslow also praised the performance of Bath & Body Works, noting that at the start of 2020, Bath & Body Works was a $5.4 billion brand and by the end of 2020, sales miraculously climbed 20% and it became a $6.4 billion brand. Meslow attributed it in part to the brand’s ability to establish soaps and sanitizers as traffic drivers during the height of the pandemic, as well as its ability to quickly further its “buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS)” model, enabling continued customer engagement.
On the Victoria’s Secret side of the business, L Brands closed 240 underperforming stores while laying the groundwork for an image overhaul and eventual business separation.
2021 Highlights
In its first year as a standalone company, Victoria’s Secret & Co. reckoned with its dated, overtly sexual identity and took some bold steps toward a more modern, female-focused marketing objective. Gone are the bombshells wearing wings and fantasy bras on the runway; the future of the brand is now about real women. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want,” Martin Waters, CEO of Victoria’s Secret told The New York Times.
To that end, the company established The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers and created The VS Collective, a campaign fronted by seven women with diverse backgrounds who will “inspire women with products, experiences and initiatives that champion them and support their journey,” according to the company.
“With The VS Collective, we are creating a platform that will build new, deeper relationships with all women. Through a series of collaborations, business partnerships and cause-related initiatives, we’re bringing new dimensions to our brand experience. In marrying our new partners’ energy, creativity and perspectives with our network and scale, we can transform how we connect with and show up for women,” said Martha Pease, chief marketing officer for Victoria’s Secret.
Looking Ahead
Bath & Body Works success has continued. In Q1, the company reported sales had nearly doubled to more than $1.4 billion. Q2 net sales were even higher, hitting $1.7 billion.
Read Next: LVMH is #9.