Victoria’s Secret gets back into the swim of things

Victoria’s Secret is getting back into swimwear.

The retailer told analysts at a Tuesday conference that it will re-enter the business by spring as part of a move to rejuvenate the struggling brand.

That’s not all. Victoria’s Secret also said it has started selling boots and plans to sell sunglasses.

“We are developing our plans in detail; nothing more to share today,” said Stuart Burgdoerfer, chief financial officer of Victoria’s Secret’s operator L Brands. “But again, a very important decision to re-enter some important businesses and pursue other growth initiatives through a licensing approach.”

The decision to get back into swimwear is driven primarily by what customers are telling the company, Burgdoerfer said.

L Brands announced in 2016 that it was leaving the swimwear, apparel, shoes, accessories and other lines of business as part of an effort to simplify its merchandise lines and accelerate growth.

Since then, shares of L Brands have tumbled sharply and analysts have questioned the wisdom of dumping swimwear and apparel, categories that provided $525 million in annual sales.

“You can look back and learn, but I’m not going to go into that at length,” Burgdoerfer said.

“The decision at that time was to focus our energy and our resources on our most critical categories, that being bras and panties at Victoria’s Secret lingerie. But as we evaluate the situation today, a very important decision and we believe a good one to re-enter the swim business again driven principally by customer feedback that we’ve received.”

On Monday, L Brands announced a new CEO for Victoria’s Secret. John Mehas, president of Tory Burch, will replace Jan Singer, who has resigned.

Back in the spring, the retailer said it was having second thoughts about the 2016 move, acknowledging that the decision was hurting business.

Burgdoerfer told analysts that the retailer is “taking a fresh, hard look at everything.”