Limited Brands

This page is the main page for this topic.

For other related pages & articles, see:

Limited Brands, Inc. (also known as L Brands; formerly known as The Limited, Inc.) is an American fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio.

Its flagship brands include The Limited, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dick's Sporting Goods, Victoria's Secret, and Bath & Body Works. L Brands posted $12.914 billion in revenue in 2019, and was listed as 248 on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of largest United States companies by revenue.

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 (he served until his death in 1975), and Leslie, CEO from inception, who later succeeded his father as the chairman. 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 shares at $7.25 a share. In 1977, The Limited moved into its main headquarters on Morse Road in Columbus, from which Limited Brands 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 catalog were purchased from Roy Raymond for $1 million. Also in 1982, 207 Lane Bryant stores were purchased. In 1985, the exclusive Henri Bendel store on Fifth Avenue in New York City was purchased for $10 million and 798 Lerner stores for $297 million. Finally, in 1988, 25 Abercrombie & Fitch stores were purchased for $46 million.

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.

In 2015, Limited Brands purchased Ascena Retail Group and Ruum American Kid's Wear.

AEON acquisition/merger[]

In early 2021, Limited Brands announced the acquisition of AEON's North American Retail Operations for $29 billion. The deal is expected to close in Fall 2021, & was finalized in August.

Subsidiaries & assets[]

Big-Box/department store brands[]

Belk - department store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Dick's Sporting Goods - sporting goods store (Acquired in 2004)
- Field & Stream - Created in 2013
- Galyan's - sporting goods store
- Golf Galaxy - golf equipment
Regent Brands - upscale retail division
- B. Altman - department store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Bonwit Teller - department store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Franklin Simon - department store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- I. Magnin - department store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- W&J Sloane - luxury furniture chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Staples - office supply store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)

Casual/mall retail brands[]

Abercrombie & Fitch - casual wear (Acquired in 1988)
- Abercrombie Kids - children's clothing (Created in 1998)
- Gilly Hicks - women's clothing and cosmetics (Created in 2008)
- Hollister Co. - teen clothing (Created in 2000)
- Ruehl No.925 - upscale casual wear, accessories, and leather goods store (Created in 2004)
Ann, Inc. - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Ann Taylor - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Loft "LOFT" - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Lou & Grey (Acquired in 2015)
Ascena Retail Stores - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Cacique - plus-size clothing store (Acquired in 2015)
- Charming Charlie - (Acquired in 2015)
- Dressbarn - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Fashion Bug - women's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
- Lane Bryant - plus-size clothing (Acquired in 2015)
Bath & Body Works - heath & beauty retailer (Created in 1990)
- White Barn Candle Company - candle retailer
Claire's - accessories retailer (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Bijoux One -
- Cleopatre -
- Icing by Claire's -
- Mr. Rags by Claire's - Pre-teen children's and teen clothing store
- Topkapi -
- Ty-Yo - pre-teen and teen boys accessories retailer
Closeout - outlet retail division
- Abercrombie & Fitch Outlet "Abercrombie Outlet" - outlet store for Abercrombie & Fitch
- Ann Taylor Factory Store -
- Bath & Body Works Outlet -
- Brothers Outlet -
- Casual Corner Annex - outlet store for all Ascena stores (Acquired in 2015)
- Express Factory Store -
- Gilly Hicks Outlet -
- Hollister Outlet - outlet store for Hollister
- Justice Outlet -
- The Limited Outlet -
- LOFT Outlet -
- NY&C Outlet -
- Ruehl Outlet - outlet store for Ruehl No.925
- Ruum Outlet - outlet store for Ruum American Kid's Wear
- Victoria's Secret Outlet - outlet store for Victoria's Secret and Pink
Coldwater Creek - (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Express - casual wear store
- Express Men - Created in 2001
- Ruum American Kid's Wear - children's clothing (Acquired in 2015)
EyeOne or Eye1 (formerly EyeWorld) - eyewear retailer (Created in 2005)
Hot Topic - counterculture clothing & accessories retailer (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Blackheart Lingerie - women's clothing chain
- BoxLunch - gift & novelty chain
- ShockHound - Music and merchandise store
- Torrid - plus-size women's clothing chain
Johnston & Murphy - clothing chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Journeys - shoe store (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Journeys Kidz
- Shii by Journeys
- Underground by Journeys
The Limited - women's clothing chain (flagship mall/casual clothing store chain)
- The Limited Men - Created in 2004
Little Burgundy - shoe chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
New York & Company - women's clothing chain (Acquired in 2015)
Oppenheim Collins - women's specialty clothing chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Regent Brands - upscale retail division
- Henri Bendel - Acquired in 1985
- La Senza - Acquired in 2006
  - La Senza Girl - pre-teen girls apparel store
Runabout Showrooms - vehicle showroom (Created in 2003)
Schuh - shoe chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Talbots - women's clothing chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
- Talbots Men
- Talbots Kids
Tween Brands, Inc. - children's clothing retailer division (Created in 1999)
- Brothers - tweenwear (Created in 2011)
- Justice - tweenwear (Created in 2004)
- Limited Too - teenage clothing retailer (Created in 1987)
  - Limited Too Boys - Created in 2013
Victoria's Secret - women's retailer (Acquired in 1982)
- Pink - women's retailer (Created in 2002)
Wet Seal - women's clothing retailer (Acquired in 2015)

Customer loyalty and rewards programs[]

MyAbercrombie (Abercrombie & Fitch/Abercrombie Kids)
Club Cali (Hollister)
Club Justice (Justice)
Gilly Hicks Girls' Club (Gilly Hicks)
Golden Ruehl (Ruehl No.925)
Kid Kash (Brothers, Justice, Limited Too, Ruum, Abercrombie Kids)
UnLimited (The Limited and Limited Too)
VS Rewards (Victoria's Secret and Pink)

Private-Label Brands[]

Added Dimensions - plus-size apparel
The Answer -
August Max Woman -
Aura Science - bath, body & cosmetics; sold at Victoria's Secret
Aussie Mates - handbags, jewelry, and other accessories; sold at Gilly Hicks store
Bea-Too-tiful - girls cosmetics; sold at Limited Too stores
Calia -
Caren Charles -
Catherines - plus-size clothing
Chelsea Collective -
Clutch - fragrance and clothing; sold at Abercrombie Kids stores (created in 2010)
C.O. Bigelow - body care; sold at Bath & Body Works stores
Cobbies - shoes
Cool Gear - Boys activewear and swimwear; sold at Brothers stores
Casual Corner -
Down Undies - lingerie; sold at Gilly Hicks stores
Eva Mendes Collection -
Ezra Fitch - Sold at Abercrombie & Fitch
Fierce - fragrance and clothing; sold at Abercrombie & Fitch stores (created in 2002)
Figi's -
Gabrielle Union -
Gilly Hicks Go - women's activewear; sold at Gilly Hicks stores (formerly known as "GH Sport")
Griffin & Howe
J. Riggings - menswear
Jumping Jacks - children's shoes
Jr. Express - children's clothing sold at Ruum American Kid's Wear; children's version of the Express brand
Just Shine - girls cosmetics; sold at Justice stores
Kate Hudson -
Lerner -
Lil' Trubble - clothing and accessories; sold at Abercrombie Kids, children's version of the Ruehl No.925 brand (created in 2015)
Lola and Coco -
Lou & Grey - activewear; sold at Loft stores
Mishmash - Teen clothing; sold at Limited Too stores (formerly a chain)
Modern Woman -
My Ruum, My Style - Fashion accessories and home decor; sold at Ruum American Kid's Wear stores
Petite Sophisticate - petite size clothing
Prep by Hollister - men's personal care products; sold at Hollister stores (introduced in 2012)
PS - plus size clothing
Red Cross - shoes
Runabout -
Selby - shoes
Sessions - bath, body, and cosmetics; sold at Hollister store (discontinued)
Socialites - shoes
Soho Jeans - jeans
Sophisticated Woman - formalwear
Techtastic - tech accessories; sold Justice and Brothers stores
T.H. Mandy - apparel
Too Place - home decor; sold at Limited Too stores
Too Tech - tech accessories; sold at Limited Too stores
Town & Country -
Trubble - clothing and accessories; sold at Abercrombie & Fitch and Ruehl No.925 stores (created in 2011)
True Runner - activewear & shoes
Ups & Downs -
Von Lengerke & Antoine -
Von Lengerke & Detmold -
Your Space - home decor; sold at Justice and Brothers stores
Warm Gear - Boys winter wear; sold at Brothers stores

Movie theatres/cinemas[]

In August 2021, Limited Brands acquired all of AEON Cinemas' international assets & is currently being rebranded into the REVUE Cinépolis subsidiary.

Cinépolis & Cinépolis Luxury is an international theatre chain.
Dine-in Theatres of Movie Tavern, Moviehouse & Eatery, & Studio Movie Grill were acquired in the AEON transaction, & Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was a separate acquisition.
The discount theatre chains Jerry Lewis & Super Saver Cinemas were acquired separately for an undisclosed amount.
REVUE Cinemas launched as a new theatre chain in 2021.
- All of former AEON Cinemas' international assets will be rebranded into REVUE.
- All of Marcus Theatres are currently rebranded into REVUE.

Restaurant chains[]

All of the restaurant chains included were a part of the AEON acquisition.

Big Boy Restaurants
Hot Shoppes

Manufacturing subsidiaries[]

Ascena - clothing manufacturer (Acquired in 2015)
Genesco - shoe manufacturer (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Griffin & Howe - firearms manufacturer (Acquired in 2008)
MGF Sourcing - apparel sourcing, manufacturer, supply chain (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
NBG Home - affordable home decor manufacturer (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Pillowtex - pillow manufacturer (Acquired in 2000)
Pure Fishing - fishing equipment manufacturer (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Runabout - vehicle manufacturer (Created in 2000)
- Runabout Boats - (Created in 2002)
- Runabout Chargers - electric vehicle chargers (Created in 2010)
  - Runabout Adventure Chargers
  - Runabout Home Chargers
  - Runabout Waypoints (superchargers)
- Runabout Motors - (Acquired in 1988)
- Runabout Motorcycles - (Created in 1996)
Slatkin & Company - home fragrance manufacturer (Acquired in 2005)
U.S. Shoe Corporation - shoe manufacturer (Acquired in 2015)

Other assets[]

Affinity Sports - sports management technology (Acquired in 2016)
Assets from Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas acquisition.
- Birth.Movies.Death. - magazine & website
- Drafthouse Films - film distributor
- Mondo
- NEON - film distributor
- Video Vortex - video rental chain
Azamara Cruises - cruise lines (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
CommerceHub - cloud-based software provider (Acquired in 2021 from AEON)
Easton Town Center - Shopping center
Limited Development - manufacturing plants (Created in 2009)
Limited Direct - online operations (Created in 1995)
Limited Distribution - distribution & fulfillment centers (Created in 2003)
Limited Publishing - publishing division (Created in 1997)
- A&F Quarterly - magazine/catalog for Abercrombie & Fitch
- Catalogue L - catalog for The Limited
- Overtime - magazine/catalog (Created in 2006)
- Tween Scene - magazine/catalog for Justice, Brothers, and Limited Too (Created in 2005)
- Velvet - magazine/catalog for Victoria's Secret and Pink (Created in 2002)