Victoria’s Secret has laid off approximately 50 employees at its Columbus, Ohio headquarters, according to CNBC, which also is reporting that April Holt, EVP of Stores and Store Operations, will soon be leaving her position.
Holt has been with Victoria’s Secret for 16 years and has held the Stores role since August 2016, according to LinkedIn. Becky Kritek-Behringer, currently SVP of Store Operations, will assume her responsibilities until a successor is named.
The staff cuts, which encompass senior leaders and junior staffers, amount to approximately 15% of Victoria’s Secret headquarters employees.
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Victoria’s Secret, once a market leader in lingerie, has been struggling against a spate of online competitors such as Adore Me, Aerie and ThirdLove. The retailer recently ended its annual televised fashion show after viewership dropped.
During Q2, comparable sales for Victoria’s Secret declined 6%, contributing to a 1% decline for parent company L Brands. The decrease was even sharper when e-Commerce is taken out of the equation: store-only comparable sales declined 9% for the three-month period ending Aug. 3, 2019 compared to the same period the previous year. Q2 net sales for the entire company also dropped, from $2.98 billion in 2018 to $2.90 billion this year.
Holt is just the latest high-level executive to leave Victoria’s Secret. In August, Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek stepped down from a role he had occupied since 1983. In November 2018, CEO Jan Singer left the company and was replaced by Tory Burch president John Mehas.
