Due to challenging business results for our business in the United Kingdom ("(“U.K."”), we entered into administration in June 2020 to restructure store lease agreements and reduce operating losses in the U.K. business. In October 2020, we entered into a joint venture with Next PLC ("Next"(“Next”) for the business in the U.K. and Ireland. Under this agreement, we own 49% of the joint venture, and Next owns 51% and is responsible for operations. We account for our investment in the joint venture under the equity method of accounting. For additional information, see Note 56 to the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

Our company-operated Victoria's Secret and PINK, China joint venture and Adore Me retail stores are located in shopping malls, lifestyle centers and off-mall locations in the U.S., Canada and Greater China. As a result of our strong brands and established retail presence, we have been able to lease high-traffic locations in most retail centers in which we operate.

The following table provides the number of our company-operated Victoria's Secret and PINK, China joint venture and Adore Me retail stores in operation as of January 29, 202228, 2023 and January 30, 2021:29, 2022:

In addition to our company-operatedCompany-operated stores, our products are sold at hundreds of partner locations and on partner websites in more thanapproximately 70 countries. We are focused on ensuring our partners have the commitment and capability to provide a quality customer experience and to grow our brands internationally.

The following table provides the number of our international stores operated by our partners by store type as of January 29, 202228, 2023 and January 30, 2021:29, 2022:

We believe the following competitive strengths contribute to our leading market position, differentiate us from our competitors and will drive future growth:

Both the Victoria’sOur Victoria's Secret and PINK brands have a strong global presence and awareness among consumers, which we believe provides us with a competitive advantage. We also have Adore Me, a technology-led, digital first innovative intimates brand which we believe is transforming the way customers shop with a pioneering home try-on commerce service and a series of innovation-driven products. While our history runs deep as a dominant player in intimates, our brands also provide compelling offerings in fragrance, beauty, apparel, loungewear, sleepwear, athletic attire and swimwear. We believe our recent and decisive actions to evolve our positioning and promote inclusivity and diversity will allow us to attract new customers while also deepening our connection with existing ones. For example, this year we announced the creation of two new partnerships, The VS Collective and The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, as we continue our evolution to inspire women with products, experiences and initiatives that champion them and support their journey. Through social, cultural and business relationships, The VS Collective, a diverse group of women ambassadors, works to create new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, and rally support for causes vital to women. The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers funds innovative research projects aimed at progressing treatments and cures for women’s cancers and investing in the next generation of women scientists who represent the diverse population they serve. We are focused on fueling our customer’s desire to be herself by empowering her with products that not only offer her comfort and style, but also allow her to celebrate and express her true self.

Our sourcing and production function has a long and deep presence in key sourcing markets including those in the U.S. and Asia. Our intimates and apparel categories are supported by an internationally outsourced platform, primarily in Asia, which has consistently provided rapid speed to market, high quality and innovative products and an efficient cost base. Meanwhile, our beauty platform is largely centered in Ohio, where a number of our suppliers are located, boasting innovation and agile manufacturing. We have thoughtfully designed our supply chain around three key principles: speed-to-market, quality and cost efficiency.

When possible we leverage the speed that we have in our supply chain, our close partnerships with suppliers and the capabilities of our sourcing, production and logistics teams to actively manage our inventory and adjust for channel shifts across our business. We focus on speed to market and believe our lead times are amongst the shortest in the industry, allowing us to read and react to customer preferences. The agility within our supply chain provides us with flexibility to quickly re-order strong sellers as we seek to maximize our sales and merchandise margin rate opportunities.

Our strong relationships with our suppliers have allowed us to manufacture our products with cost efficiency without sacrificing quality. Our global supply base and flexibility are key competitive advantages and allow us to provide a broad product range, innovation and assortment to our customers.

The current supply chain environment remains challenging, and we areWe remain focused on maximizing our strong relationships with our supplier partners and our sourcing and logistics capabilities to help mitigate the impacts of theany supply chain challenges and cost pressures and supply chain issues on our business.

Our senior management team has a wealth of retail and business experience and a deep knowledge of our business. The management team is supported by well qualified leaders and is highly collaborative across our brands and our channels.

During 2021,2022, we purchased merchandise from approximately 210 vendors located throughout the world, the largest of which accounted for approximately 13%14% of our purchases. We believe there are numerous alternative suppliers for our merchandise and that the loss of any one vendor would not have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our global supply chain organization is responsible for the operational planning, manufacturing, sourcing, and distribution of products to our customers. We believe we have developed a high degree of expertise in managing the complexities associated with a global supply chain.

A substantial portion of our merchandise is shipped to our distribution centers in the Columbus, Ohio area. Additionally, we use third-party operated distribution centers located throughout North America to distribute our merchandise. We use a variety of shipping terms that result in the transfer of title of the merchandise at either the point of origin or point of destination.

The current supply chain environment remains challenging, and we areWe remain focused on maximizing our strong relationships with our supplier partners and our sourcing and logistics capabilities to help mitigate the impacts of theany supply chain challenges and cost pressures and supply chain issues on our business.

Our e-commerce channel and store locations also provide customers with an enhanced understanding of theour brands through uniform messaging and brand essence across platforms. Each brand has a marketing team focused on ensuring the customer is appropriately reached and engaged. Our in-store sales force is also highly knowledgeable and we have regular in-store training to promote positive customer interactions through helpful and informed store associates.

Our management information systems consist of a full range of retail, financial and merchandising systems. The systems include applications related to point-of-sale, e-commerce, merchandising, planning, sourcing, logistics, inventory management, data security and support systems including human resources and finance.

Our operations are seasonal in nature and consist of two principal selling seasons: Spring (the first and second quarters) and Fall (the third and fourth quarters). The fourth quarter, including the holiday season, typically accounts for approximately one-third of our net sales and is normally our most profitable quarter. Accordingly, cash requirements are routinely highest in the third quarter as our inventories build in advance of the holiday season.

We fund our business operations through a combination of available cash and cash equivalents and cash flows generated from operations. In addition, our credit facilities are available for additional working capital needs and investment opportunities.

Our trademarks and patents, which constitute our primary intellectual property, have been registered or are the subject of pending applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and with the registries of many foreign countries where our products are manufactured and/or sold. We believe our products are identified by our trademarks and, thus, our trademarks are of significant value. Accordingly, we intend to maintain our trademarks and related registrations and vigorously protect our intellectual property assets against infringement, misappropriation or other violations. Although the laws vary by jurisdiction, in general, trademarks remain valid and enforceable as long as the marks are used in connection with the related products and services and the required registration renewals are filed.

We also place high importance on product innovation and design, and a number of these innovations and designs are the subject of issued patents and pending patent applications.

Due to the worldwide consumer recognition of our products, we face an increased risk of counterfeiting by third parties. We vigorously monitor and enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights against counterfeiting, infringement, misappropriation and other violations by third parties where and to the extent legal, feasible and appropriate. However, the actions we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to prevent third parties from copying our products or infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating our trademarks or other intellectual property rights, and the laws of foreign countries may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the U.S.

For additional information about our business, including our net sales and profits for the last three years and selling square footage, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The sale of women’s intimates, apparel, and personal and beauty care products is a highly competitive business. We believe we compete effectively in our core categories by leveraging our brand equity, unique scale and our high-quality innovative products. Our primary competitors include individual and chain specialty stores, department stores, mass merchandisers, online retailers and discount retailers. Additionally, we see a large and growing offering from private label intimates apparel created for retailers in addition to emerging brands. Brand image, presentation, marketing, design, price, service, fulfillment, assortment, fit and quality are the principal competitive factors.

Our mission is to inspire and empower all by reflecting experiences, expanding access, and recognizing diversity. We pledge to welcome and celebrate every associate, partner and customer – from all backgrounds, all abilities and all life stages.

As we strive to create a better future for our organization and our world, we are committed to consciously and continuously learning and growing from our past and present. For us, it is not just about selling products – it is about using our scale and platform to champion every voice and drive forward inclusion and equity for every person.individual.

We believe that integrating DEI into everything we do is not just the right thing to do but is critical to driving performance and doing well for our associates, customers and communities. We are committed to bringing this to life through strategic actions with measurable goals, focusing on three key pillars: People, Experience and Purpose.

As of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, we employed approximately 34,00031,000 associates, approximately 20,00017,000 of whom were part-time. In addition, temporary associates are hired during peak periods, such as the holiday season. Approximately 80%75% of our associates work in our stores, 10%12% in distribution centers with the remaining balance in home office and call centers.

Our benefit programs are designed to be comprehensive, cost-effective and competitive to help our associates and their families be well and stay well.

We offer competitive compensation, company-matched savings and contributions to the retirement plan, and flexible and affordable health, wellness and lifestyle benefits to eligible associates. Eligible associates can choose benefits and access resources that fit their lifestyle, including, but not limited to, 14 weeks paid maternity leave, 6 weeks paid paternity leave, adoption assistance, tuition reimbursement, free access to life planning and health advocate services and generous merchandise discounts. We also recently extended a worldwide Employee Assistance Program for all associates and anyone in their household to support mental health well-being. In addition, we offer paid time off to eligible part-time eligible associates.

We are committed to equal opportunity and treatment for all associates which includes equal career advancement opportunities and equitable and competitive wages. Our compensation programs are designed to link annual changes in compensation to Victoria's Secret & Co.'s overall performance. At the individual level, we strive to assess performance on both an associate's contributions as well as behaviors displayed to achieve them. The emphasis on Victoria's Secret & Co.'s overall performance is intended to align our associates’ financial interests with the interests of our stockholders. All salaried associates in the home office, distribution and call centers participate in our short-term cash incentive program. We encourage associate stock ownership with the ability to purchase Victoria's Secret & Co. shares at a discount through our associate stock purchase plan.

We conduct an annual, rigorous and transparent review of 100% of our worldwide workforce that is verified by an independent third party to ensure that all salaries and incentive compensation targets are fair and unbiased. If we find any differences in our workforce in 2021 included the expansion of participationpay between men and women globally or by race and ethnicity in the short-term cash incentive compensation programUnited States, we make upward adjustments. Our process reviews gender, race, ethnicity and the intersection of these identities. (Many jurisdictions outside the U.S. limit our ability to include all salariedcollect information on race and ethnicity and also what we can do with that information.)

Because workforces are dynamic and ever-changing, so is the work to ensure pay equity. We believe that pay equity is a journey, not a destination. Victoria's Secret & Co. engages in an ongoing analysis and is committed to continued transparency relative to our metrics on pay equity, and we plan to report to our associates inand to the home office, distribution or call centers beginning with the Fall 2020 season and going forward.public on an annual basis.

Health and safety of our associates, customers and vendors are key components of our culture and fundamental in achieving our strategic priorities and goals. We strive to provide safe and clean facilities, comply with all applicable workplace safety laws and have global safety policies and procedures to protect from avoidable injury. In response to COVID-19, we implemented robust safety protocols to protect all

At Victoria's Secret & Co., our associates working in our distribution centers, stores and home offices. Associates whose work can be done remotely are working from home. For associatesvalues define who are working in our stores, offices and distribution centers, we are utilizing COVID-19 safety measures developedand what we stand for, including treating everyone with dignity and respect. To support these values, we have established compliance processes and protocols which apply to align with Centers for Disease Controlall Victoria's Secret & Co. associates and Prevention ("CDC") guidelinesthird parties participating in photo shoots, public relations events, fit sessions and other applicable state/local requirements.internal meetings where models are present.

Following the Separation, ourOur executive officers during 2021at the end of 2022 were as follows:

We are subject to a number of risks, including, risks related to the Separation and related transactions, risks related to our business operations, risks related to our indebtedness, and risks related to owning our common stock.stock and risks related to the Separation and related transactions. The following list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Please read “Risk Factors” carefully for a more thorough description of these and other risks.

We, along with third parties we do business with, are subject to complex compliance and litigation risks. Actions filed against us from time to time may include commercial, tort, intellectual property, customer, employment, wage and hour, data privacy, securities, anti-corruption and other claims, including purported class action lawsuits. The cost of defending against these types of claims or the ultimate resolution of such claims, whether by settlement or adverse court decision, may harm our business and results of operations. Further, potential claimants may be encouraged to bring suits based on a settlement from us or adverse court decisions against us. We cannot assess the likelihood that we will receive such claims or the outcome of any such claims, but if outcomes are negative, it could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

The market price of our common stock followinghas fluctuated significantly since the Separation;Separation, and may continue to fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

During the two-year period following the Separation, we are limited under the Tax Matters Agreement in our ability to sell or otherwise issue our common stock, but in the future your percentage ownership in the Company may be diluted due to equity issuances for acquisitions, strategic investments, capital market transactions or otherwise, including equity awards that we may grant to our directors, officers, employees and other service providers. From time to time, we may grant additional equity awards to our employees under our employee compensation and benefits plans. These awards would have a dilutive effect on our earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We may not be able to achieve the full strategic and financial benefits expected to result from the Separation, or such benefits may be delayed or not occur at all. The Separation is expected to enhance strategic and management focus and allow us to more efficiently and effectively allocate resources and deploy capital. We may not achieve these and other anticipated benefits for a variety of reasons, including, among others:

If we fail to achieve some or all of the benefits expected to result from the Separation, or if such benefits are delayed, our business could be harmed.

Prior to the Separation, our Former Parent performed many important corporate functions for us, including information technology, shared services, insurance, logistics, human resources, finance and internal audit. In connection with the Separation, we entered into certain arrangements with our Former Parent pursuant to which we and our Former Parent will continue to provide to each other, on an ongoing basis, certain functions and services that the companies have historically shared. Our Former Parent may not successfully execute its obligations to us under these arrangements, and any interruption in the functions or services that will beare provided to us by our Former Parent following the Separationpursuant to these arrangements could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Our Former Parent may also allege that we have failed to perform our obligations to it under these arrangements, which may subject us to claims and liability. In addition, performing our obligations to our Former Parent under these arrangements may also require significant time and resources, and may divert management’s attention from the operation of our business.

In addition, at the end of this transition period, we will need to perform these functions ourselves or hire third parties to perform these functions on our behalf. The costs associated with performing or outsourcing these functions may exceed the amounts reflected in our historical combined financial statements that were incurred as a business segment of our Former Parent. We expect to continue to incur costs to establish the necessary infrastructure and create the systems and services to replace manycertain of the systems and services that our Former Parent historically provided to us. However, we may not be successful in implementing these systems and services in a timely manner or at all, and we may incur additional costs in connection with, or following, the implementation of these systems and services. A significant increase in the costs of performing or outsourcing these functions could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Furthermore, we may experience certain operational disruptions in connection with the Separation as we transition to operating as an independent public company, including information technology disruptions as certain data, software, information technology hardware and other information technology assets and systems are transitioned or re-allocated between us and our Former Parent, or as we implement new systems or upgrades in connection with such transition. In addition, the efforts related to the separation of the information technology environment will require significant resources that could impact our ability to keep pace with ongoing advancement of the information technology needs of the business. Our ability to effectively manage and operate our business depends significantly on information technology systems, and any failure, disruption, interruption, malfunction or other issue with respect to such systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Pursuant to the Separation and Distribution Agreement and other agreements with our Former Parent, our Former Parent agreed to indemnify us for certain liabilities, and we agreed to indemnify it for certain liabilities. Payments that we may be required to provide under indemnities to our Former Parent are not subject to any cap, may be significant and could negatively affect our business, particularly under indemnities relating to our actions that could affect the tax-free nature of the Separation. Third parties could also seek to hold us responsible for the liabilities that our Former Parent has agreed to retain, and under certain circumstances, we may be subject to continuing contingent liabilities of our Former Parent following the Separation that arise relating to the operations of our business during the time that it was a business segment of our Former Parent prior to the Separation, such as certain tax liabilities which relate to periods during which our taxes were reported as a part of our Former Parent; certain liabilities retained by our Former Parent which relate to contracts or other obligations entered into jointly by our business and our Former Parent’s retained business; certain environmental liabilities related to sites at which both we and our Former Parent operated; and certain liabilities arising from third-party claims in respect of contracts in which both we and our Former Parent supply goods or provide services.

Our Former Parent has agreed to indemnify us for such contingent liabilities. While we have no reason to expect that our Former Parent will not be able to support its indemnification obligations to us, we can provide no assurance that our Former Parent will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations or that such indemnity obligations will be sufficient to cover our liabilities for matters which it has agreed to retain, including such contingent liabilities. Moreover, even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from our Former Parent any amounts for which we are indemnified, we may be temporarily required to bear these losses ourselves. Each of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

It is intended that the Separation, together with certain related transactions, will qualify as a generally tax-free “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and a generally tax-free distribution within the meaning of Section 355 of the Code. The consummation of the Separation and the related transactions was conditioned upon the receipt of an opinion of certain of our tax advisers to the effect that such transactions will qualify for this intended tax treatment. In addition, it is intended that the Separation transaction generally will qualify as a series of transactions that are tax-free for U.S. federal income tax and applicable non-U.S. tax purposes. The opinion relies on certain representations, assumptions and undertakings, including those relating to the past and future conduct of our business, and the opinion would not be valid if such representations, assumptions and undertakings were incorrect. Notwithstanding the opinion, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could determine that the Separation should be treated as a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it determines that any of the representations, assumptions or undertakings that were relied on for the opinion are false or have been violated, if it disagrees with the conclusions in the opinion, or for other reasons, including as a result of significant changes in the stock ownership of our Former Parent or us after the Separation.

If the Separation or related transactions fail to qualify for tax-free treatment due to a breach by us (or any of our subsidiaries) of any covenant or representation made by us in the Tax Matters Agreement between us and our Former Parent (the “Tax Matters Agreement”), we generally will be required to indemnify our Former Parent for all tax-related losses suffered by it. In addition, we will not control the resolution of any tax contest relating to taxes suffered by our Former Parent in connection with the Separation, and we may not control the resolution of tax contests relating to any other taxes for which we may ultimately have an indemnity obligation under the Tax Matters Agreement. In the event that our Former Parent suffers tax-related losses in connection with the Separation that must be indemnified by us under the Tax Matters Agreement, the indemnification liability could have a material adverse effect on us.

If the Separation fails to qualify for tax-free treatment, for any reason, the Former Parent and/or holders of the Former Parent's common stock would be subject to substantial U.S. and/or applicable non-U.S. taxes as a result of the Separation and certain related transactions, and we could incur significant liabilities under applicable law or as a result of the Tax Matters Agreement.

The Tax Matters Agreement generally prohibits us from taking certain actions that could cause the Separation and certain related transactions to fail to qualify as tax-free transactions, including:

If we take any of the actions above and such actions result in tax-related losses to our Former Parent, we generally will be required to indemnify it for such tax-related losses under the Tax Matters Agreement. Due to these restrictions and indemnification obligations under the Tax Matters Agreement, we may be limited in our ability to pursue strategic transactions, equity or convertible debt financings or other transactions that may otherwise be in our best interests. Also, our potential indemnity obligation to our Former Parent might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control that our stockholders may consider favorable.

None.

The following table provides the location, use and size of our distribution, corporate and product development facilities as of January 29, 2022:28, 2023:

OurWithin the U.S., our business is principally conducted from office, distribution and shipping facilities located in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Additional facilities are located in New York, New Jersey and Kettering, Ohio.

Our distribution and shipping facilities in the U.S. consist of three buildings located in the Columbus, Ohio, area.area and one leased building located in New Jersey. These buildings, including attached office space, comprise approximately 2.93.1 million square feet. The lease on the New Jersey facility expires in 2023.

As of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, we operate 808operated 818 retail stores located in leased facilities, primarily in malls and shopping centers, throughout the U.S. A substantial portion of these lease commitments consists of store leases generally with an initial term of 10 years. The store leases expire at various dates between 20222023 and 2034.2036.

Typically, when space is leased for a retail store in a mall or shopping center, we supply all improvements, including interior walls, floors, ceilings, fixtures and decorations. The cost of improvements varies widely, depending on the design, size and location of the store. In certain cases, the landlord of the property may provide an allowance to fund all or a portion of the cost of improvements, serving as a lease incentive. Rental terms for new locations usually include a fixed minimum rent plus a percentage of sales in excess of a specified amount. We usually pay certain operating costs such as common area maintenance, utilities, insurance and taxes. For additional information, see Note 89 to the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

We lease offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong within China. As of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, we operate 26operated 59 retail stores in leased facilities in China. These lease commitments consist of store leases with initial terms ranging from 3 to 15 years expiring on various dates between 2023 and 2032.

As of January 28, 2023, we operated 25 retail stores located in leased facilities, primarily in malls and shopping centers, throughout the Canadian provinces. These lease commitments consist of store leases with initial terms of 5 to 10 years expiring on various dates between 20222023 and 2031.2030.

As a result of our joint venture with Next, we no longer operate any stores in the U.K. or Ireland. However, as of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, we continue to lease a store in the U.K., with a lease expiration in 2025, and a store in Ireland, with a lease expiration in 2037, which are sublet to and operated by the joint venture.

As of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, we also have global representation through stores operated by our partners:

We also operate technology and sourcing-related office facilities in various international locations.

Not applicable.

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the stock symbol “VSCO.” We began to trade as a standalone public company on August 3, 2021. There was no public trading market for our common stock before August 3, 2021. As of January 29, 2022,28, 2023, there were approximately 25,000 stockholders of record of our common stock. However, including active associates who participate in our stock purchase plan, associates who own shares through our sponsored retirement plans and others holding shares in broker accounts under street names, we estimate our stockholder base to be approximately 146,000.141,000.

We have not paid any cash dividends since the Separation. We cannot guarantee that we will pay a dividend in the future or continue to pay any dividends if and when we commence paying dividends. The declaration and amount of any dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, cash flows, capital requirements of our business, covenants associated with our debt obligations, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice and any other factors the Board of Directors deems relevant.

We caution that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or made by the Company,us, our management, or our spokespeople involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, our future performance and financial results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our future operating results, the implementation and impact of our strategic plans, and our ability to meet environmental, social, and governance goals. Words such as “estimate,” “commit,” “target,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “strive,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “planned,” “potential” and any similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Risks associated with the following factors, among others, could affect our financial performance and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements:

Our operating results are generally impacted by economic changes and, therefore, we monitor the retail environment using, among other things, certain key industry performance indicators including competitor performance and mall traffic data. These can provide insight into consumer spending patterns and shopping behavior in the current retail environment and assist us in assessing our performance as well as the potential impact of industry trends on our future operating results. Additionally, we evaluate a number of key performance indicators including comparable sales, gross profit, operating income and other performance metrics such as sales per average selling square foot and inventory per selling square foot in assessing our performance.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. is an iconic global brand of women’s intimate and other apparel, personal care and beauty products. We sell our products through twothree brands, Victoria’s Secret, PINK and PINK.Adore Me. Victoria’s Secret is a category-defining global lingerie brand with a leading market position and a rich, 40-yearover 45-year history of serving women across the globe. PINK is a lifestyle brand for the collegiate-oriented customer, built around a strong intimates core. We also sell beauty products under both the Victoria’s Secret and PINK brands. Adore Me is a technology-led, digital first innovative intimates brand serving women of all sizes and budgets at all phases of life. Together, Victoria’s Secret, PINK, and Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Adore Me support, inspire and celebrate women through every phase of their life.

Victoria’s Secret, PINK and PINKAdore Me merchandise is sold online through our e-commerce platform,platforms, through company-operated retail stores located in the U.S., Canada and Greater China, and through international stores and websites operated by partners under franchise, license, wholesale and joint venture arrangements. We have a presence in overapproximately 70 countries and we believe we benefit from global brand awareness, a wide and compelling product assortment and a powerful, deep connection with our customers.

We continueare committed to focusoptimizing our performance by focusing on opportunities for improved performance, driven by efforts to improve the cultural relevance ofwhat is within our brands, improved merchandise assortments,control, and disciplined inventory management focused on the quality, quantity and timing of merchandise receipts. While we believe our improvements in merchandise assortment and our brand repositioning strategies are attracting and re-attracting customers, we are also mindful of the cost challenges and disruptionsconfident in our supply chain.strategic growth plan and remain committed to delivering long-term sustainable value for our stockholders.

We have a multi-year goal to increase sales and operating income by focusing on these key business priorities:

The following is a discussion regarding certain of our key business priorities:priorities.

We continue to make significant investments in our iconic brands, our physical and digital business channels, our customer experience and our organizational capabilities in order to support the continued growth of our business. We believe our success is significantly enabled by frequent and innovative product launches, which include bra launches and new beauty fragrances. We are making targeted investments in technology related to our strategic initiatives to drive growth, including our new Victoria's Secret and PINK customer loyalty program, and to maintain our high digital penetration and to expand the omni-channel offering for our customers. We are also working to increase our distribution capacity and efficiency in order to make decisions close to market, deliver orders to customers more quickly and provide the best and widest assortment across product categories and sizes across all channels. Our management team is committed to a diverse and inclusive corporate culture and we are buildinghave a world class team to support the execution of our growth strategies. Additionally, we will continue to search for new growth opportunities, including new brands we may develop as well as partnerships with existing brands that help us attract new customers and better meet the needs of existing ones.

We believe we can further optimize our existing base of stores within North America to continue to deliver an elevated retail experience and to meet our customer’scustomers’ evolving channel preferences. We believe our stores channel is important to engaging with existing and new customers and, accordingly, see it as a key part of our strategy and focus to provide flexibility and convenience to our customers through omni-channel capabilities. We are investing in our stores through refreshing existing stores and working towards aexpanding our store of the future concept that will include smaller, more flexible space in off-mall locations with a unique dual-brand layout to meet the needs of our customer and accommodate shifting consumer preferences for omni-channel shopping. We also continue to focus on appropriate space allocation within the store and right-sizing the overall size of the North American stores, which we believe will lead to sales transference to other stores and our digital channel. In addition to our initiatives related to our physical stores, we plan to continue to invest in store talent and labor optimization. These initiatives are designed to increase productivity in our stores measured through improved sales per selling square foot, as well as overall store profitability.

Investing in our digital channel continues to be a key priority and we believe that our global brands and our scaled retail footprint in North America is a unique platform to grow our digital business. Omni-channel initiatives, including buy online pick-up in store, and an increased focus on mobile and application interactions will continue to provide flexibility and convenience to our customers. Our shopping and services initiatives will continue to modernizeare aimed at modernizing the customer’s digital shopping experience through features like digital selling guides, virtual try-on, digital appointments, improved checkout performance and alternative payment options. Further, with our customer at the core of our strategy, we are also increasing the personalization of our digital platforms through site experience and marketing designed for our customer. Our ongoing digital investments are designed to create a seamless shopping experience between online and offline and bolster our leadershipperformance in the digital channel. In addition, we are scaling the distribution capacity of our digital business in order to support our growth and our omni-channel offerings. These strategies are aimed at increasing our digital channel mix and driving margin accretion.

Growing our international business is a key strategy. We plan to drive strong comparable sales growth in franchise, travel retail and joint venture-operated stores through continued improved product offerings and adjusting assortments to better reflect local preferences. We plan to increase our international store count, enabled by a new store design, lower costs and flexible store formats, which are designed to provide a pathway to profitable growth. Additionally, we expect to continue investing in and growing the digital components of our international business, including through country-specific web platforms tailored to local languages and preferences and through additional regional expansion. We believe theour joint venture partnership we entered into in 2020 with Next in the United Kingdom will allow us to leverage growth through the already existing and impressive Next digital presence. Further, we believe our recently announced joint venture partnership2022 with Regina Miracle in China will allow us to grow the China business through joint investment in product development, distribution and marketing. Wemarketing, and also expect our partnership with Regina Miracle will positively impactimpacts the speed and agility of the business due to Regina Miracle's established production base in China.

For additional information related to our 20212022 financial performance, see “Results of Operations – 20212022 Compared to 2020.2021.” For a discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for 2021 compared to 2020, refer to “Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 29, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 18, 2022.

The following table compares 20212022 U.S. company-operated store data to the comparable periods for 20202021 and 2019:2020: