L Brands faces pressure to split Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works

An investor with small stake in L Brands is calling on the company to split its profitable Bath & Body Works business from its struggling lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Braington Capital Group LP sent a letter Tuesday to Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of L Brands. In the letter, the hedge fund told Wexner Victoria's Secret could be rejuvenated by improving merchandising and updating its branding, according to WSJ.

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It also called on L Brands to replace directors with tenures longer than 30 years to improve the board’s independence and diversity.

L Brands recently announced plans to close 53 Victoria's Secret stores. The Columbus-based company also has a call center that employs thousands in Kettering.

If the business takes on the advice, it wouldn’t be the first company that recently split its brands. Gap recently announced plans to split from Old Navy in attempt to rebrand itself as a high-end brand rather than the low-cost associated with Old Navy.

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