Retail stocks slump as Victoria's Secret owner reports dismal sales
Retailers were caught in a widespread selloff on Thursday after L Brands (NYSE:LB), the owner of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported weaker sales than expected.
The report from L Brands highlighted worries over declining sales and store closures across the retail industry. Shares of L Brands tumbled 13 percent, and other retailers including Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) were dragged lower in recent trading.
L Brands said Thursday that net sales in June fell 6% compared with last year during the same period, and same-store sales fell 9%, which is worse than industry analysts had expected.
It was part of a larger route in retail, the worst performing sector on the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Consumer discretionary stocks were down 0.6% on Thursday afternoon, and retailers accounted for six of the 10 top decliners on the S&P 500.
Shares in Sears fell more than 8.3%, and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) shares slid 5.7%.Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) and Macy’s (NYSE:M) each saw declines of 2% or more.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
LB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
SHLD | GLOBAL X FDS DEFENSE TECH ETF | 32.14 | -0.00 | -0.01% |
M | MACY'S INC. | 19.01 | +0.01 | +0.05% |
JCP | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
KSS | KOHL'S CORP. | 21.85 | -0.17 | -0.77% |