Following the separation of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works into two businesses, beauty owner L Brands has appointed CFOs for its standalone brands.
Upon the split, which is expected to be completed in August this year, Wendy Arlin, currently SVP of Finance and Controller of L Brands will take up the role at Bath & Body Works, while Tim Johnson, formerly CFO and Chief Administrative Officer for Big Lots, will join the Victoria’s Secret team.
L Brands’ current CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer will retire at this time.
“We are pleased to announce the appointment of two proven and talented individuals with strong public company expertise to the CFO roles of each standalone business,” said Sarah Nash, L Brands’ Chair of the Board.
“Wendy is an exceptional and skillful leader who knows our business well and has made significant contributions to the company, having worked closely with the board, Stuart and other senior leaders during her 16 years at L Brands.
“Tim is an experienced public company CFO with extensive knowledge of the retail industry in addition to having previously spent over eight years with L Brands early in his career.”
She added: “We are confident that Wendy and Tim are the right leaders to help each business deliver profitable growth and enhanced value to our stakeholders.”
The announcement is hot on the heels of L Brands’ record earnings for Q1 2021.
For the three months ended 1 May, operating income reached US$572m compared with a loss of $317.7m in 2020, meanwhile, net incomes stood at $276m, which in the previous year was a loss of $296m.
Bath & Body Works’ net sales were up from $760m for the first quarter in 2020 to almost double at $1.4bn for the same period.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret total comparable sales increased 9% compared to Q1 2019, and its in-store sales reflected the brand’s decision to close more than 230 stores since the first quarter of 2019, with US and Canada store sales down 3% compared to 2019.
