The lingerie brand is already fighting to fend off a challenge from key shareholder BBRC International, which is blaming the company's board for poor performance.

Victoria's Secret (VSCO) faces yet another challenge, with activist investor Barington Capital building a stake and seeking broad changes at the lingerie brand, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

According to the WSJ report, which cited people familiar with the matter, Barington owns a stake of over 1% in Victoria's Secret and intends to keep buying more shares.

The activist plans to push Victoria's Secret to refresh its board and refocus on its core bra business to turn around its share performance.

The company's shares are down more than 50% so far this year, as it faces challenges from upcoming brands such as Skims.

The slump is exacerbated by a cyber incident that forced the company to take down its e-commerce site for three days last month.

Victoria's Secret has said that it expects to take a $20 million hit to sales in the current quarter due to the incident.

Earlier this month, BBRC International, one of Victoria's Secret's largest shareholders, called for a revamp of the company's board, citing "ongoing mismanagement" and "damaging board-level choices."

In response, the retailer adopted a shareholder rights plan, commonly known as a poison pill, aimed at limiting BBRC's influence. Australian billionaire Brett Blundy leads the investment firm.

Victoria's Secret told Bloomberg that "Barington has not sought to engage with us" so far.

The brand is undergoing a turnaround under Hillary Super, who took over as CEO in September last year. She has revamped the leadership team and refocused the brand on younger consumers. 

However, her efforts have been partly dampened by U.S. tariffs and broader consumer softness.

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