Type Public Key people Les Wexner, CEO Founder Les Wexner | Industry Retailing CEO Les Wexner (1963–) Founded 1963 | |
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Traded as NYSE: LB
S&P 500 Component Products Clothing, fashion accessory Revenue US$ 12.574 billion (2016) Stock price LB (NYSE) US$ 51.18 +1.21 (+2.42%)17 Mar, 4:04 PM GMT-4 - Disclaimer Headquarters Columbus, Ohio, United States Subsidiaries Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, La Senza Profiles | ||
Retailers like l brands cato post january same store sales gains
L Brands Inc. (formerly known as Limited Brands Inc and The Limited Inc.) is an American fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio.
Contents
- Retailers like l brands cato post january same store sales gains
- Early history
- Acquisitions
- Brands
- References
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.
Early history
In 1912, Bella Cabakoff emigrated with her parents from Russia to Columbus, Ohio, to escape persecution. At age 21, she became the youngest buyer for the Lazarus department store chain. However, after spending over 20 years with 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 on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1977, The Limited moved into its main headquarters on Morse Road in Columbus, from which it still operates today.
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.
Brands
L Brands currently operates the following retail brands:
Although not part of L Brands, they also have distribution rights (exclusive or non-exclusive) for the following brands:
Previous brands that were spun off include: