Victoria’s Secret boss Leslie Wexner may step down, sell company
Billionaire retail tycoon Leslie Wexner is reportedly in talks to step down from th꧒e♛ helm of his company and sell his struggling Victoria’s Secret underwear brand.
Wexner, the 82-year-old CEO of the Ohio-based conglomerate L Brands♒, is considering leaving the chief executive’s job at his “retail empire,” Wednesday. He may stay on as the company’s chairman, the outlet reported.
L Brands is in discussions with private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which has bought other troubled brands including Talbots, Nine West and Limited, to buy the ailing lingerie brand or acquire part of it, according 𒁃to the report. The discussions are ongoing and could result in a full or partial sale of Victoria’s Secret, the paper said, citing anonymous sources.
Wexner is also weighing a full or partial sale of Victoria’s Secret as the lingerie chain struggles with declining saleꦗs, according to the Journal, which reported that the talks are ongoing.
Victoria’s Secret — which has about 1,100 stores in the US and Canada — saw sales sink 12 percent in November and December amid a slowdown in store traffic. It also scrapped its annual fashion show last yea🐎r as L Brands worked to “evolve the market𒀰ing” of the brand, which has remained largely the same for decades.
The potential change of ownership comes as Wexner — who is worth $6.7 billion, according to Bloomberg — has been forced to answer uncomfortable questions about his ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himselfꦑ in the Metropolitan Correctional Center iꦆn Manhattan in August.
Epstein managed money for Wexner, tried to help recruit models for the Victoria’s Secret catalog — and al⛦legedly attacked a women in a hotel room aft🌄er claiming to be a talent scout,
Wexner has said he’s “embarrassed” about his former ܫconnections to Epstein and has accused him of misappropriating more than $46 million while serving as Wexner’s money manager.
L Brands shares soared o📖n the news closing up by 12.94 percent to $23.22 on Wednesday. The company decli♕ned to comment.