Will Lubbock Lose Victoria’s Secret or Bath & Body Works?

L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, has announced that many terrestrial stores will be shuttered for good.

While they are still assessing which stores should close, I'm willing to risk a prediction:

Lubbock will keep its Kingsgate Bath & Body Works store. I'd bet the barn on that one. It may even keep the South Plains Mall store. But I worry that Victoria's Secret is dead in the water here in Lubbock.

I could be way off base, but here's my anecdotal observations, paired with L Brands' quarterly report.

First, Victoria's Secret is closing stores at a 5:1 ratio to Bath & Body Works, so the sheer odds against our local store are worse. Second, part of L Brands' strategy with Victoria's Secret is to "focus on inventory management, sourcing cost reductions and tariff mitigations, and an increase in full-price selling."

From what I understand, this translates to less stock in stores (read: size availability), and fewer promotions and sales. Victoria's Secret already has major issues with a lack of sizing options. As a double D woman myself, Victoria's Secret is a waste of my time...most of the time. And knowing that I could go almost anywhere else that actually has my size and has it on sale? Why would I bother? And I think most of Lubbock would agree with me.

Only time will tell, and honestly, even if Victoria's Secret isn't for me, I do hope it makes it because of the jobs it provides to our community.

Bath & Body Works' future, on the other hand, will not keep me up at night. Lubbockites LOVE their candles. The last $10 candle day saw lines wrapping around Kingsgate. Also, no matter how big your boobs are, bath and body products still 'fit.'