Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is subject to various claims and contingencies related to lawsuits, taxes, insurance, regulatory and other matters arising out of the normal course of business. Actions filed against the Company from time to time include commercial, tort, intellectual property, customer, employment, data privacy, securities and other claims, including purported class action lawsuits. Management believes that the ultimate liability arising from such claims and contingencies, if any, is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

On May 19, 2020 and January 12, 2021, certain of the Company's stockholders filed derivative lawsuits in the Court of Common Pleas for Franklin County, Ohio (subsequently removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio) and the Delaware Court of Chancery, respectively, naming as defendants certain current and former directors and officers of the Company and alleging, among other things, breaches of fiduciary duty through asserted violations of law and failures to monitor workplace conduct (the "Lawsuits"). In addition, the Company also received litigation and books-and-records demands from certain other stockholders related to the same matters (together with the Lawsuits, the "Actions").

In July 2021, the Company announced the global settlement resolving the Actions. The settlement resolves all derivative claims that have been or could have been asserted in the Actions or that involve in any way the allegations referred to in the Actions and releases all such claims against the Company and its past and present employees, officers and directors, among others. As part of the settlement, the Company has agreed to implement certain management and governance measures, including the maintenance of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. Following the August 2, 2021 spin-off of Victoria’s Secret & Co., the settlement terms apply to both the Company and Victoria’s Secret & Co. Each company has committed to invest $45 million over at least five years to fund the management and governance measures.

In May 2022, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio granted final approval of the settlement.

Lease Guarantees

In connection with the spin-off of Victoria's Secret & Co. and the sale of the La Senza business, the Company had remaining contingent obligations of $277 million as of April 30, 2022 related to lease payments under the current terms of noncancelable leases, primarily related to office space, expiring at various dates through 2037. These obligations include minimum rent and additional payments covering taxes, common area costs and certain other expenses and relate to leases that commenced prior to the disposition of these businesses. The Company's reserves related to these obligations were not significant as of April 30, 2022.