L Brands ($LB) has taken a few Ls over the past several months. The company announced plans to sell Victoria’s Secret to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. Former CEO Les Wexner stepped down amidst sexual misconduct allegations surrounding the lingerie brand. But L Brands won a small victory with yesterday's earnings report.
The company reported a top- and bottom-line beat, a surprise for investors and market pundits alike. That said, our alternative data on L Brands suggests this success might not last.
Since the beginning of the year, the Facebook ‘Talking About’ count for L Brands’ Bath & Body Works has gone down from 392,000 to 206,000, a 47% decrease. It’s not hard to imagine the retailer, once a shopping mall staple, to go the same direction as Victoria’s Secret.
At the end of 2019, L Brands’ LinkedIn headcount was at 62,800. Today, that number is down 23% to 48,300. Victoria's Secret has been a magnet for controversy, but L Brands might suffer without it.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Square's stock price lags Shopify
- Samsung shuffles 5M Instagram users - but why?
- Snowflake data turns into an avalanche as jumbo-unicorn loads up on cash
