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Bath & Body Works Loses Luster as Shoppers Pull Back
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Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Friday, November 21. In today's briefing, Bath & Body Works says its sales slump and stock drop stem from former management chasing new categories like shampoo and detergent that hurt its core scented-body and home products, especially in a tough economy.
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Bath & Body Works is facing weakening consumer sentiment. Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg News
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Bath & Body Works CEO Says Former Strategy Failed to Drive Growth
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Shoppers come to Bath & Body Works for its soothing body butters, scented candles and decorative soaps and hand sanitizers. Shampoo and laundry detergent? Not so much.
As the company veered into new categories in recent years, sales of its core products suffered.
On Thursday, the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer reported a drop in sales and earnings and slashed its forecast for the year. Its shares closed down 25% and have declined more than 55% this year.
A difficult economic environment, in which penny-pinching consumers are less likely to splurge on gifts for themselves, didn’t help. But the real culprit, according to Chief Executive Officer Daniel Heaf, was a strategy pursued by former management that neglected its most-popular categories in pursuit of new avenues of growth. The growth didn’t materialize as expected, and the core, namely body care, home fragrances, soaps and sanitizers, suffered.
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Related: Walmart’s earnings told the story of a two-track economy, one where low-income Americans are spending less and wealthier shoppers are spending steadily. One thing unites them: Everyone wants a deal.
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Argentine President Javier Milei at the United Nations in New York earlier this year. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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U.S. Banks Shelve $20 Billion Bailout Plan for Argentina
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A planned $20 billion bailout to Argentina from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup has been shelved as bankers pivot instead to a smaller, short-term loan package to support the financially distressed government, people familiar with the matter said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Trump administration had been seeking to bolster Argentine President Javier Milei’s pro-reform party when they announced a pair of financial lifelines this fall. The package included a $20 billion currency swap with the U.S. Treasury Department and plans for a separate $20 billion bank-led debt facility.
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A Ford F-150 pickup truck for sale. Mike Blake/Reuters
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Second Large Fire at Ford Aluminum Supplier Threatens Production
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A second large fire broke out Thursday morning at a key aluminum supplier to Ford. A Sept. 16 fire at the plant reduced production of F-150 pickups and other models. Thursday’s fire appears to be in the same area of the plant, said people familiar with the matter.
All workers were evacuated from the Oswego, N.Y., plant, Novelis said in a statement. Firefighters remained at the scene Thursday afternoon to monitor the site after the fire was extinguished.
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Leave Private Equity? More Buyout Professionals Are Considering It
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Some of the best-paid workers on Wall Street are weighing a change of careers.
As private equity’s slump approaches the four-year mark, more younger professionals are considering taking roles outside the industry, according to a forthcoming report on private-equity pay and job satisfaction from recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners.
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The report highlights the challenges both firms and workers face as private equity’s downturn in dealmaking and fundraising drags on. Asset managers accustomed to having their pick of top candidates are now in the unfamiliar position of trying to keep younger dealmakers engaged.
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Delayed Data Show Strong Hiring, but Offer Little Clarity for Fed
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The U.S. labor market defied expectations in September, adding 119,000 jobs, according to a report delayed nearly seven weeks by the government shutdown. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4%, the highest level in four years.
The Labor Department report leaves an already divided Federal Reserve with stale and somewhat inconclusive government data as the central bank heads into its next meeting in December.
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