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Victoria’s Secret Faces Valentine’s Day Test
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By Jennifer Williams | WSJ Leadership Institute
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Good morning, CFOs. Victoria’s Secret readies for Cupid’s holiday; U.S. companies score wins in global tax deal; plus, a look at whether tariffs cause inflation.
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The Victoria's Secret fashion show in October. It now includes models of different ages, ethnicities and body sizes. BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS
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Valentine’s Day is big for lingerie and sleepwear sales. This time last year, Victoria’s Secret was underprepared.
This year is expected to be different, the company’s finance chief told me. A year after falling short on Valentine’s Day with muted marketing and not enough lingerie and sleepwear on hand, Victoria’s Secret is going bold during what is a crucial selling season for the maker of intimate playwear.
Recent sales momentum, helped in part by its relaunched and rebooted fashion show, has spurred the company’s new leadership to boost marketing and inventory, as well as scale back on promotional discounts.
“This was a learning from last year where we didn’t buy Valentine’s Day [inventory] as much as we could have, and sold out too soon,” said Chief Financial and Operating Officer Scott Sekella. “We are ready to capture on that moment.”
Changes for Cupid’s holiday this year include:
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Launching the company’s full February collection on Jan. 7, earlier than in previous years
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Ramping up related marketing
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Having more Valentine’s Day-themed intimates, apparel and beauty products on hand
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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Leadership Strategies Become More Collaborative: Global Survey
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As uncertainty and volatility have become the norm, boards and C-suite leaders say they are finding new ways to work together to drive growth and organizational resilience. Read More
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What Else Matters to CFOs
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the global tax deal a ‘victory in preserving U.S. sovereignty.’ ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
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The Trump administration won international tax-policy concessions sought by Republicans and companies, reshaping the Biden-era global corporate minimum-tax deal without abandoning it, Richard Rubin reports.
The U.S. had threatened to blow up the agreement last year, warning that it interfered with the nation’s prerogative to set its own tax policy. That prompted other countries to seek a path that would accommodate concerns from President Trump and congressional Republicans. The U.S. paused those threats in late June and the administration stayed at the negotiating table for the rest of 2025 to reach the consensus announced Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The updated agreement achieves two main U.S. aims.
1️⃣ It prevents other countries from imposing taxes on U.S. companies based on the idea that American firms pay too little tax on their U.S. operations.
2️⃣ It makes minimum-tax math more favorable to the U.S. research-and-development tax credit and similar incentives elsewhere.
Here are a few key reactions:
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“This outcome is a far better outcome than one that would have involved threats of retaliation or countries doing their own thing,” said Manal Corwin, the lead OECD official in the effort
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“This is a win for the U.S., but I think it’s also a win for multilateralism,” said Scott Levine of law firm Baker McKenzie, who was the Biden administration’s chief negotiator on international taxes
What will be the impact of the deal on a global minimum corporate tax? Join the conversation at the end of the story, or hit reply to this newsletter.
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33%
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Percentage of Gen Z workers who are “extremely” or ”very” concerned about AI replacing them, according to a WSJLI pulse poll taken Dec. 29 and 30 among a sample of 1,003 U.S. adults.
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The WSJ CFO Council Summit
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This March 23–24, financial leaders will gather in Palo Alto for The WSJ CFO Council Summit to examine how CFOs are navigating market volatility, evolving trade and regulatory policy and the growing impact of AI on the future of the enterprise. Join the CFO Council and be part of the conversations shaping the future of finance and corporate leadership.
Request Invitation.
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Patrick Industries, the Elkhart, Ind.-based component solutions provider, appointed Matthew Filer as CFO and treasurer, succeeding Andrew Roeder. Roeder said he would step down to pursue opportunities more closely aligned with his entrepreneurial and operational background, Patrick Industries said. He will remain at the company until it files its annual fiscal report to the SEC for the year ended Dec. 31. Filer joined Patrick Industries as senior vice president of finance in 2022 before being elevated to interim CFO in May 2023. He was appointed chief accounting officer in May 2024.
—Elias Schisgall contributed to today’s Ledger.
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Content From Our Sponsor: DELOITTE
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Deloitte's CFO Signals Dashboard
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Deloitte’s North American CFO Signals survey gauges CFO sentiment across a number of fronts, including the economy, capital markets, and the issues keeping them up at night. Access the latest survey dashboard here
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The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy. Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew. You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.
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