Sales accelerated 6% for Limited Brands in May. Sales came in at $737m for the perfume-to-lingerie brands operator for the four weeks to 1 June, up from $671.9m this time last year. And the fashion player confirmed that, for the 17 weeks to 1 June, sales pushed up 6.3% to $3.005bn.
Amie Preston, Chief Investor Relations Officer for Limited, said May’s Bath & Body Works – Limited is the parent company of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret – same store sales had climbed 3% driven by “the performance of our Signature Collection, home fragrance, and soap and sanitiser businesses”. Limited though, remains under some pressure due to sales concessions to consumers, including free shipping and upped promotional activity. However, the company is expanding at some pace outside the US (it has plans to add eight more Victoria’s Secret Canadian stores on top of its existing 28 stores) and the new London stores have proved a solid success.
Recent better US jobs data, cheaper gas prices and improving property values have also helped consumer confidence generally in the US.