MONTREAL, Quebec—La Senza, which started as a Canadian company selling lingerie in shopping mall retail stores, is losing a bit more of its Canadian presence.
In early 2007 San Francisco-based Limited Brands Inc, which is the parent company of the American lingerie and swimwear chain Victoria’s Secret, and Bath and Body Works, a retailer of personal care products, purchased La Senza Corp for $710 million. At the time of the sale, La Senza had 318 stores in Canada. Today that number is approximately 160. It also had Canadian distribution centre operations. But as of September that will no longer be the case.
Limited Brands intends to close its Montreal, Quebec-based DC and move operations to the US—specifically to its DC in Columbus, Ohio.
According to a company statement, the move is due to the global market.
“To better meet customer demand not only in Canada, but around the world, we will be relocating the La Senza distribution centre operations from Montreal to Columbus in September. While this is the right decision for the future of La Senza, changes affecting our associates are never easy. Following the transition to Columbus, some of the affected La Senza associates will transfer to other Canadian operations and the balance will receive separation pay and job transition services. Additionally, we will support them in pursuing any roles that may become available across our family of brands. We want to thank the associates of our La Senza distribution centre in Montreal for their dedication to the company and our customers.”
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