• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Limited's March same-store sales fall 8 percent

NEW YORK
Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:20am EDT

Stocks

   

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Limited Brands Inc (LTD.N) on Thursday posted an 8 percent decline in March same-store sales, which was deeper than Wall Street expected, but in line with the retailer's outlook.

Stocks

Analysts on average had been expecting a decline of 7.5 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.

The operator of the Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains said total sales were $733.2 million for the five weeks that ended April 5, down from $892.3 million a year earlier.

The timing of the Easter holiday, which was two weeks earlier than a year ago, hurt sales by 3 percentage points, the company said.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 6 percent at Victoria's Secret as weak sales of beauty products and panties offset strong sales of bras.

At Bath & Body Works, same-store sales fell a worse-than-expected 13 percent, hurt by a decline in customer traffic.

Sales at the La Senza chain fell 4 percent.

Limited said it expected same-store sales to decline at a low-single-digit percentage rate in April.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Lisa Von Ahn)



More from Reuters

A security personnel stands guard near oil pipelines at Tawke oil field near Dahuk, 400 km (245 miles) north of Baghdad May 9, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Now or never for Big Oil

The pressure's on for oil giants looking to secure rare access to cheap Middle East reserves as Iraq gears up to auction off some of the world's largest untapped oilfields.  Full Article 

A glass of tap water is served at a restaurant in New York June 10, 2009 REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

G7 glass half empty

Recovering from a punishing global recession has forced the world's richest nations to pay dearly, prompting subdued growth prospects and delayed sighs of relief.   Full Article