COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Limited Brands, Inc.
(NYSE: LTD) reported a comparable store sales decrease of 6 percent for the
five weeks ended Oct. 4, 2008 compared to the five weeks ended Oct. 6,
2007. The company reported net sales of $673.4 million for the five weeks
ended Oct. 4, 2008 compared to net sales of $713.2 million last year.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020520/CLM001LOGO )
The company reported a comparable store sales decrease of 7 percent for
the 35 weeks ended Oct. 4, 2008. Net sales were $5.471 billion compared to
net sales of $6.213 billion last year.
2007 net sales include Express sales through July 6, 2007, the closing
date of the sale of a majority interest to affiliates of Golden Gate
Capital, and Limited Stores sales through Aug. 3, 2007, the closing date of
the transfer of a majority interest to affiliates of Sun Capital Partners.
To hear further commentary provided on Limited Brands' prerecorded
September sales message, call 1-866-639-7583 (1-866-NEWS-LTD), or log onto
http://www.Limitedbrands.com for an audio replay.
ABOUT LIMITED BRANDS:
Limited Brands, through Victoria's Secret, Pink, Bath & Body Works,
C.O. Bigelow, La Senza, White Barn Candle Co. and Henri Bendel, presently
operates 3,010 specialty stores. The company's products are also available
online at http://www.VictoriasSecret.com, http://www.BathandBodyWorks.com,
http://www.HenriBendel.com and http://www.LaSenza.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995
We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this
press release or the September sales call involve risks and uncertainties
and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which
are beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and financial
results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such
forward-looking statements. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan,"
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "planned," "potential" and
similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Risks
associated with the following factors, among others, in some cases have
affected and in the future could affect our financial performance and
actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements included in
this press release or the September sales call:
-- general economic conditions, consumer confidence and consumer spending
patterns;
-- the dependence on a high volume of mall traffic and the possible lack
of availability of suitable store locations on appropriate terms;
-- the seasonality of our business;
-- our ability to grow through new store openings and existing store
remodels and expansions;
-- our ability to expand into international markets;
-- independent licensees;
-- our direct channel business including risks associated with our new
distribution center;
-- our failure to protect our reputation and our brand images;
-- our failure to protect our trade names and trademarks;
-- market disruptions including severe weather conditions, natural
disasters, health hazards, terrorist activities or the prospect of
these events;
-- stock price volatility;
-- our failure to maintain our credit rating;
-- our ability to service our debt;
-- the highly competitive nature of the retail industry generally and the
segments in which we operate particularly;
-- consumer acceptance of our products and our ability to keep up with
fashion trends, develop new merchandise, launch new product lines
successfully, offer products at the appropriate price points and
enhance our brand image;
-- our ability to retain key personnel;
-- our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified employees and
manage labor costs;
-- our reliance on foreign sources of production, including risks related
to:
-- political instability,
-- duties, taxes, other charges on imports,
-- legal and regulatory matters,
-- currency and exchange rates,
-- local business practices and political issues,
-- potential delays or disruptions in shipping and related pricing
impacts and
-- the disruption of imports by labor disputes;
-- the possible inability of our manufacturers to deliver products in a
timely manner or meet quality standards;
-- rising energy costs;
-- increases in the costs of mailing, paper and printing;
-- our ability to implement and sustain information technology systems;
and
-- our failure to comply with regulatory requirements.
We are not under any obligation and do not intend to make publicly
available any update or other revisions to any of the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release or the September sales call to
reflect circumstances existing after the date of this press release or to
reflect the occurrence of future events even if experience or future events
make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by those
forward-looking statements will not be realized. Additional information
regarding these and other factors can be found in "Item 1A. Risk Factors"
in our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
LIMITED BRANDS
SEPTEMBER 2008
Comparable Store Sales Increase (Decrease):
Year-to- Year-to-
September September Date Date
2008 2007 2008 2007
Victoria's Secret Stores (7%) (6%) (8%) 2%
La Senza(1) (4%) (3%) 1% 2%
Bath & Body Works (7%) (2%) (9%) 0%
Express(2) - - - 6%
Limited Stores(3) - - - 4%
Total Apparel - - - 5%
Limited Brands (6%) (4%) (7%) 2%
1.) La Senza comparable store sales not included in total Limited
Brands' comparable store sales until January 2008 as the business was
acquired on Jan. 12, 2007
2.) Express comparable store sales through July 6, 2007, closing date
of the sale of majority interest to affiliates of Golden Gate Capital
3.) Limited Stores comparable store sales through Aug. 3, 2007, closing
date of the transfer of majority interest to affiliates of Sun Capital
Partners
Total Stores:
Stores Stores
Operating Year-to-date Operating
at 2/2/08 Opened Closed at 10/4/08
Victoria's Secret Stores 1,020 32 (11) 1,041
La Senza 312 10 (4) 318
Bath & Body Works 1,592 71 (19) 1,644
Henri Bendel 2 - - 2
Bath & Body Works Canada - 5 - 5
Total Limited Brands 2,926 118 (34) 3,010
SOURCE Limited Brands, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.limitedbrands.com
http://www.VictoriasSecret.com
http://www.BathandBodyWorks.com
http://www.HenriBendel.com http://www.LaSenza.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020520/CLM001LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Investor Relations, Amie Preston,
+1-614-415-6704, apreston@limitedbrands.com, or Media Relations,
Tammy Roberts Myers, +1-614-415-7072, extcomm@limitedbrands.com,
both of Limited Brands
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