Stuart Burgdoerfer
Analyst · Ike Boruchow with Wells Fargo
Yes. So thanks, Ike, for the question and your research on the business. We've said pretty consistently now for probably around like 6 or 9 months, certainly 6 months, that everything is on the table with respect to the evaluation of the Victoria's Secret business, and that wasn't just a throw away phrase. That was
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we are taking a fresh hard look at all aspects of the business. And that's not a onetime exercise. It will be an ongoing exercise and starts from the place that the ultimate profit result, economic results of the business is not consistent with our expectations or the potential of the business. And thus, you get into a mindset -- we're in a mindset of truly looking at everything. And again, not a onetime exercise.
As Amy and John particularly have come into the business, but Greg has done the same thing, it really does start. And it's not limited to, but it starts with fundamentally the merchandise that you're selling. And as I mentioned in a quick comment on the first question on this call, Amy is very intensely focused on understanding that target customer and reworking the assortments at PINK. And John, again now 13 weeks in, has truly hit the ground running and is bringing to our situation a lot of great experience that he had in his prior retail life. And so we're very focused, obviously, on the merchandise. And as registered in our pre-circulated comments, that impact is showing up in the most clear way beginning in the fall season, and it will get more significant as we move through the fall season. But that is tangible and real.
From that, we're taking our look at lots of other stuff. We closed more stores or announced plans to close more stores, have closed more stores, to rightsize square footage in 2019 than we had historically, as an example of taking up a hard fresh look at things. And by the way, the business also continues to invest in real estate and opens doors where it makes sense, particularly at Bath & Body Works, but also internationally.
As it relates to marketing, Ike, in the fashion show, at the end of the day, as part of that fresh hard review of everything, we're taking a hard look at the best ways to reinforce the equities and the strengths of the Victoria's business and make appropriate adjustment to the positioning of the business. And then in concert with the changes in merchandise, how do we most effectively market those changes? And that work, as you would appreciate, is in process. When we have specific things to share publicly, we will. In some cases, we'll do that right as consumers are experiencing it for competitive reasons that you would understand. But there's active work going on with respect to how the business is marketed, as indicated by our announcement recently about a reevaluation of the fashion show.
So everything is on the table. Certainly, you mentioned international and how we're looking at that business. There are no constraints, only time frame. You would understand in that evaluation, one has to think about lease terms and lease flexibility and those kinds of things, but we're in a position where everything is on the table. Les Wexner has always led with that mindset, that it's always about looking forward and about change. And on an overall basis, certainly, he's navigated and led that well over a long, long time in specialty retail, and we're very focused on it as a management team.