Latest news with #Barington
Fashion Network
10 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Victoria's Secret faces fresh activist fight from Barington Capital
Activist investor Barington Capital Group is pushing Victoria's Secret to alter its board and end a recently adopted "poison pill" plan, according to a letter to the lingerie maker's shareholders on Monday. See catwalk The New York-based hedge fund, which owns more than 1% of the company, said Victoria's Secret has underperformed its competitors and lost over $2.4 billion in shareholder value since its spin-off in 2021 from former parent company L Brands. On Sunday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Barington wants the company to replace most or all of its board and end the "poison pill" plan that it adopted in May to protect the company from hostile takeovers. "Barington has not sought to engage with us, but we look forward to discussing their views with them," a Victoria's Secret spokesperson said. "We are confident that executing our strategy under the new and experienced leadership team will continue to unlock value for our shareholders," the spokesperson added. Its shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year amid waning demand, were up about 3% in morning trade. Victoria's Secret requires a reconstituted board comprising directors with "proven experience in brand revitalization, operational execution, international expansion, and shareholder value creation," James Mitarotonda, Barington's founder and CEO, said in the letter. The investment firm said the retailer should focus on core categories and initiatives, like bras and the Angels campaign, and accelerate growth in digital and international markets. Barington highlighted concerns about the company's leadership, and said Chief Executive Hillary Super, who took over in September 2024, has limited public company experience, and that the rest of the board lacks the necessary experience to revitalize the iconic brand. Victoria's Secret, with a market capitalization of about $1.45 billion currently, adopted the poison pill plan to fend off Brett Blundy's investment firm, which increased its stake in the company to around 13%. Barington's pressure puts Victoria's Secret in a "precarious position" as it tries to fend off other activist investors and restore confidence in CEO's turnaround plan, eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said, adding that investors' growing dissatisfaction with leadership could force a change at the company's management level. Barington previously pushed for changes at L Brands, which split into Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Earlier this year, Barington mounted its first full-blown board room challenge since 2015 when it tried to put three directors on the board of casket maker Matthews International but ended up losing the vote.
Fashion Network
13 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Victoria's Secret faces fresh activist fight from Barington Capital
Activist investor Barington Capital Group is pushing Victoria's Secret to alter its board and end a recently adopted "poison pill" plan, according to a letter to the lingerie maker's shareholders on Monday. See catwalk The New York-based hedge fund, which owns more than 1% of the company, said Victoria's Secret has underperformed its competitors and lost over $2.4 billion in shareholder value since its spin-off in 2021 from former parent company L Brands. On Sunday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Barington wants the company to replace most or all of its board and end the "poison pill" plan that it adopted in May to protect the company from hostile takeovers. "Barington has not sought to engage with us, but we look forward to discussing their views with them," a Victoria's Secret spokesperson said. "We are confident that executing our strategy under the new and experienced leadership team will continue to unlock value for our shareholders," the spokesperson added. Its shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year amid waning demand, were up about 3% in morning trade. Victoria's Secret requires a reconstituted board comprising directors with "proven experience in brand revitalization, operational execution, international expansion, and shareholder value creation," James Mitarotonda, Barington's founder and CEO, said in the letter. The investment firm said the retailer should focus on core categories and initiatives, like bras and the Angels campaign, and accelerate growth in digital and international markets. Barington highlighted concerns about the company's leadership, and said Chief Executive Hillary Super, who took over in September 2024, has limited public company experience, and that the rest of the board lacks the necessary experience to revitalize the iconic brand. Victoria's Secret, with a market capitalization of about $1.45 billion currently, adopted the poison pill plan to fend off Brett Blundy's investment firm, which increased its stake in the company to around 13%. Barington's pressure puts Victoria's Secret in a "precarious position" as it tries to fend off other activist investors and restore confidence in CEO's turnaround plan, eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said, adding that investors' growing dissatisfaction with leadership could force a change at the company's management level. Barington previously pushed for changes at L Brands, which split into Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Earlier this year, Barington mounted its first full-blown board room challenge since 2015 when it tried to put three directors on the board of casket maker Matthews International but ended up losing the vote.
Fashion Network
15 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Victoria's Secret faces fresh activist fight from Barington Capital
Activist investor Barington Capital Group is pushing Victoria's Secret to alter its board and end a recently adopted "poison pill" plan, according to a letter to the lingerie maker's shareholders on Monday. See catwalk The New York-based hedge fund, which owns more than 1% of the company, said Victoria's Secret has underperformed its competitors and lost over $2.4 billion in shareholder value since its spin-off in 2021 from former parent company L Brands. On Sunday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Barington wants the company to replace most or all of its board and end the "poison pill" plan that it adopted in May to protect the company from hostile takeovers. "Barington has not sought to engage with us, but we look forward to discussing their views with them," a Victoria's Secret spokesperson said. "We are confident that executing our strategy under the new and experienced leadership team will continue to unlock value for our shareholders," the spokesperson added. Its shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year amid waning demand, were up about 3% in morning trade. Victoria's Secret requires a reconstituted board comprising directors with "proven experience in brand revitalization, operational execution, international expansion, and shareholder value creation," James Mitarotonda, Barington's founder and CEO, said in the letter. The investment firm said the retailer should focus on core categories and initiatives, like bras and the Angels campaign, and accelerate growth in digital and international markets. Barington highlighted concerns about the company's leadership, and said Chief Executive Hillary Super, who took over in September 2024, has limited public company experience, and that the rest of the board lacks the necessary experience to revitalize the iconic brand. Victoria's Secret, with a market capitalization of about $1.45 billion currently, adopted the poison pill plan to fend off Brett Blundy's investment firm, which increased its stake in the company to around 13%. Barington's pressure puts Victoria's Secret in a "precarious position" as it tries to fend off other activist investors and restore confidence in CEO's turnaround plan, eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said, adding that investors' growing dissatisfaction with leadership could force a change at the company's management level. Barington previously pushed for changes at L Brands, which split into Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Earlier this year, Barington mounted its first full-blown board room challenge since 2015 when it tried to put three directors on the board of casket maker Matthews International but ended up losing the vote.
Fashion Network
15 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Victoria's Secret faces fresh activist fight from Barington Capital
Activist investor Barington Capital Group is pushing Victoria's Secret to alter its board and end a recently adopted "poison pill" plan, according to a letter to the lingerie maker's shareholders on Monday. See catwalk The New York-based hedge fund, which owns more than 1% of the company, said Victoria's Secret has underperformed its competitors and lost over $2.4 billion in shareholder value since its spin-off in 2021 from former parent company L Brands. On Sunday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Barington wants the company to replace most or all of its board and end the "poison pill" plan that it adopted in May to protect the company from hostile takeovers. "Barington has not sought to engage with us, but we look forward to discussing their views with them," a Victoria's Secret spokesperson said. "We are confident that executing our strategy under the new and experienced leadership team will continue to unlock value for our shareholders," the spokesperson added. Its shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year amid waning demand, were up about 3% in morning trade. Victoria's Secret requires a reconstituted board comprising directors with "proven experience in brand revitalization, operational execution, international expansion, and shareholder value creation," James Mitarotonda, Barington's founder and CEO, said in the letter. The investment firm said the retailer should focus on core categories and initiatives, like bras and the Angels campaign, and accelerate growth in digital and international markets. Barington highlighted concerns about the company's leadership, and said Chief Executive Hillary Super, who took over in September 2024, has limited public company experience, and that the rest of the board lacks the necessary experience to revitalize the iconic brand. Victoria's Secret, with a market capitalization of about $1.45 billion currently, adopted the poison pill plan to fend off Brett Blundy's investment firm, which increased its stake in the company to around 13%. Barington's pressure puts Victoria's Secret in a "precarious position" as it tries to fend off other activist investors and restore confidence in CEO's turnaround plan, eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said, adding that investors' growing dissatisfaction with leadership could force a change at the company's management level. Barington previously pushed for changes at L Brands, which split into Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Earlier this year, Barington mounted its first full-blown board room challenge since 2015 when it tried to put three directors on the board of casket maker Matthews International but ended up losing the vote.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Activist Barington owned more Matthews stock after losing proxy fight, filing shows
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Barington Capital Group, which lost a high-profile board fight at Matthews International this year, increased its holding in the casket maker but also liquidated its bet on toymaker Mattel where it was also pushing for changes, a new filing shows. The so-called 13-F filing shows that Barington, which fought for three seats on the Matthews' board, increased the size of its investment by roughly 40% to 798,617 shares during the first three months of the year. Barington criticized the company's underperformance and pressed it to replace its chief executive and consider some divestments, but it lost the proxy fight in late February when investors re-elected all of management's candidates. However, rather than sell some or all of the shares, something that often happens when investors lose proxy battles, Barington did the opposite and bought more Matthews shares. The stock price has fallen 23% this year. A representative for Barington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Also during the first quarter, Barington sold out of its investment in Mattel after having pushed the company to consider selling its Fisher-Price and American Girl units, buying back more stock and rethinking its compensation plans, all to help push the stock price higher. By the end of March, Barington had sold its remaining 525,100 shares to exit the position. It had already sold 50,000 shares during the fourth quarter of 2024, filings show. Mattel, which owns Barbie and Matchbox brands, said earlier in May that it plans to raise prices on some toys to offset the impact of tariffs on Chinese imports. It also said that it is keeping its $600 million share repurchase target for this year. The 13-F filings, which detail what investment firms owned in U.S. stocks at the end of the previous quarter, are backward-looking but are closely watched for indications of investment trends. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
