L Brands Inc. (formerly known as Limited Brands Inc and The Limited Inc.) is an American fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio.
Its flagship brands include Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. L Brands posted $10.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and was listed as #258 in the 2013 Fortune 500 list of top companies.
History
Early history
Bella Cabakoff was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and moved to Columbus as a toddler. At age 21, she became the youngest buyer for the Lazarus department store chain. After spending over 20 years working for Lazarus, in 1951 she and her husband Harry Wexner opened a women's clothing store named Leslie's (after their son) on State Street. This store became the training ground for Leslie "Les" Wexner. In 1963, he borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and $5,000 from the bank and opened a store at the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio. This store was named "The Limited" because the store focused on clothing for younger women, unlike his parents' general merchandise store. Later in 1964, Bella and Harry closed their store to join their son in his venture.
The original board consisted of only the three family members and longtime friend Jim Waldron, who served as Senior Vice President. Bella Wexner served as secretary until her death in 2001, Harry as chairman, who served until his death in 1975, and Leslie succeeded his father as the chairman and later became CEO. As of 2014 he and his family continue to own 17% of LB. In 1969, Wexner took The Limited Brands public and sold 47,600 share at $7.25 a share. In 1977, The Limited moved into its main headquarters on Morse Road in Columbus, from which it still operates today. In 1982, The Limited was first listed on The New York Stock Exchange.
Acquisitions
The 1980s started a string of acquisitions. In 1982, the Victoria's Secret brand, store, and catalogue were purchased from Roy Raymond for $1 million. Also in 1982, 207 Lane Bryant stores were purchased. In 1985, a single Henri Bendel store was purchased for $10 million and 798 Lerner stores for $297 million. Finally, in 1988, 25 Abercrombie & Fitch stores were purchased for $46 million. In 1996 The Limited phased out its ownership of the A&F brand, when it was spun off into a publicly traded company.
The 1990s saw the initial development of the Limited Too, Bath & Body Works, Structure, and Victoria's Secret Beauty. Later in 1998, several Bath & Body Works stores were converted to The White Barn Candle Company stores to begin a home fragrance brand.
In 2005 Limited Brands purchased home fragrance manufacturer Slatkin & Company.
On August 3, 2007, Limited Brands sold 75% ownership of its flagship Limited chain. In 2010, the remaining 25% shares to buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. Stefan M. Selig from Bank of America was involved in these deals. The Limited announced on its website that all the Limited stores in the United States had officially closed their doors on January 7, 2017. The web retail operation of the Limited stores, thelimited.com, will continue to open for business and ship nationwide. The Limited online has officially filed for bankruptcy and discontinued all services.
Brands
L Brands currently operates the following retail brands:
- Victoria's Secret
- Bath & Body Works
- Pink (sold through Victoria's Secret)
- Henri Bendel
- La Senza
Although not part of L Brands, they also have distribution rights (exclusive or non-exclusive) for the following brands:
- C. O. Bigelow
- The White Barn Candle Company
Previous brands that were spun off include:
- Lane Bryant â€" sold in 2002 to Charming Shoppes
- Abercrombie & Fitch â€" acquired by The Limited in 1988 and went public as NYSE: ANF in 1996
- Lerner New York â€" sold and became New York and Company
- The Limited Too â€" Tween Brands, Inc., spun off in 1999
- Galyan's â€" Majority interest sold in 1999, remaining shares sold in 2004, merged with Dick's Sporting Goods
- Structure â€" converted to Express Men, brand name later sold to Sears
- Aura Science â€" merged with Victoria's Secret Beauty
- Express â€" on May 15, 2007, Limited Brands sold a 75% stake in Express to Golden Gate Capital Partners
- The Limited â€" on August 3, 2007, Limited Brands transferred 75% ownership of its flagship Limited chain to buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc.; in 2010, Sun Capital purchased the remaining shares.
References
External links
- L Brands
- Bath & Body Works Official Webpage
- Victoria's Secret Official Webpage
- Henri Bendel Official Webpage
- La Senza Official Webpage
