California Apparel News

Even as Victoria’s Secret hosted its high-profile annual fashion show, broadcast on Dec. 11 on CBS, L Brands, the chain’s parent company, was reporting a slowdown at the beginning of the crucial season.

For its November same-store sales, L Brands reported its only negative same-store sales of 2013, a decline of 5 percent. Amie Preston, L Brands’ chief investor-relations officer, said the decrease came in slightly below expectations. She blamed the late Thanksgiving for the decline. In 2013, Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 28. Last year, the holiday fell on Nov. 22. The rest of the year was marked by good performances for L Brands, which also runs retailers such as Bath & Body Works and Henri Bendel.

After a good performance in the 2012 holiday season, L Brands started 2013 with a bang when its same-store sales skyrocketed 9 percent in January. It spent the rest of the year reporting mostly good sales until October, when it spiked again. While November sales declined, Preston said the sales for Thanksgiving weekend met the company’s expectations.

The Buckle Inc., headquartered in Kearney, Neb., experienced more of a roller-coaster financial year. Its first quarter was dominated by same-store-sales declines. It reported solid performances for the middle of the year but suffered some same-store-sales declines at the end of the year.

Financial-services firm Imperial Capital, based in Los Angeles, said the firm remains one of the best operators in the specialty retail business, but it said business would be challenging for the company in an economy so far marked by a “weak consumer spending environment."