Victoria's Secret & Co. posted a strong second quarter, with sales climbing 10 percent to $1.6 billion for the period ended Aug. 1, near the top of the company's forecast. Comparable store sales rose 9 percent, and net profits hit $183 million, helped by more than $140 million in tariff refunds. Adjusted earnings came in at $80 million, or 95 cents per diluted share, beating the 77 cents analysts had expected.
CEO Hillary Super credited the results to strength across all three business units, calling bras and the Victoria's Secret line the standouts, followed by broad success in Pink. She noted the company has about 25 million active customers, down from 35 million at its peak, and sees room to grow. In bras specifically, market share has moved from the high teens to the low 20s since she took over, though it once reached 36 percent in North America. Pink, she added, used to be a $3 billion brand and is now under $2 billion.
On the topic of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, Super said the company is seeing only a small effect-about a 3 percent uptick in existing customers sizing down, mostly from medium to small or small to extra small, not on the larger end of the scale.
Looking ahead, the Victoria's Secret runway show will move to Los Angeles this year instead of New York and will be paired with a docuseries called "Angels Among Us" that follows the search for the next runway star. The brand is partnering with YouTube rather than Amazon, a shift Super described as more democratic and better aligned with younger consumers, adding that the tie-in with paid marketing through Google should be powerful.
CFO Scott Sekella said the company benefited from stronger regular-price selling and disciplined execution despite tariff uncertainty. Full-year sales are now projected at $7.1 billion to $7.2 billion, up from an earlier $7 billion to $7.1 billion. Adjusted operating income is expected to rise to $560 million to $590 million, compared with the previous forecast of $550 million to $580 million and last year's $403 million.
Originally reported by WWD