SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG, CHINA - 2019/10/06: A logo of Victoria's Secret, an American designer, manufacturer, and marketer of women's lingerie, womenwear, and beauty products, seen in Shenzhen. (Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) …
NEW YORK - Victoria's Secret, beset by falling sales and uncomfortable questions about its billionaire founder who has run the company for five decades, is being sold.
The company's owner, L Brands, said that the private-equity firm Sycamore Brands will buy 55% of Victoria's Secret for about $525 million. The Columbus, Ohio company will keep the remaining 45% stake.
Shares of the parent, L Brands, slid 14.6% in premarket trading Thursday.
Victoria's Secret entrance, Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The selling price signifies a marked decline for a brand with hundreds of stores that booked about $7 billion in revenue last year.
Sales at its stores are in decline because competition is increasing and tastes are changing. Victoria's Secret suffered a 12% drop in same-store sales during the most recent holiday season.
It said Thursday same-store sales declined 10% at Victoria's Secret during the fourth quarter.