The Limited was an American clothing retailer that operated retail stores between the early 1960s and the late 2010s. After 2007, it became a
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, originally owned by the
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
firm
Sun Capital Partners
Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...
, now owned by another private equity firm
Sycamore Partners
Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital.
History
Founding
Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefa ...
. In January 2017 The Limited shut down all of its 250 stores, laid off 4,000 workers and filed for bankruptcy.
History
Bella Cabakoff was born in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...
and moved to
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
as a toddler. At 21, she became the youngest buyer for the
Lazarus department store chain. In 1951, after spending over 20 years with Lazarus, 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 Wexner
Leslie Herbert Wexner (born September 8, 1937) is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman emeritus of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (formerly Limited Brands). Wexner grew a business empire after starting The Limited, a clothing re ...
. In 1963, he borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and $5,000 from the bank and opened a store at the
Kingsdale Shopping Center
Kingsdale Shopping Center, also known as Kingsdale, Kingsdale Center, and Kingsdale Mall, is a large, mixed-use shopping center in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. It features a Giant Eagle Market District supermarket.
Built in 1959, ...
in
Upper Arlington
Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...
. 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 of Harry and Bella, Jim Waldron (who served as senior vice president): Bella Wexner (who served as secretary until her death in 2001), Harry as chairman (who served until his death in 1975), and Leslie, who succeeded his father as the chairman and later became
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. He and his family continue to control 17% of LTD. In 1969, Wexner took
Limited Brands
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (formerly known as L Brands, Inc., Limited Brands, Inc. and The Limited, Inc.) is an American specialty retail company based in Columbus, Ohio. It owns Bath & Body Works, posted $11.9 billion in revenue in 2021, and was ...
public, listed as LTD on the
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the List of stock exchanges, world's largest s ...
. In 1977, The Limited moved into its main headquarters on Morse Road in Columbus. In 2009, most headquarters operations moved to
New Albany, Ohio
New Albany is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located northeast of the state capital of Columbus. Most of the city is located in Franklin County and a small portion extends into adjacent Licking County. New Albany had a population of 10,825 ...
.
The 1980s started a string of acquisitions: In 1982, the
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...
brand, store, and catalogue were purchased from
Roy Raymond
Roy Larson Raymond (April 15, 1947 – August 26, 1993) was an American businessman who founded the Victoria's Secret lingerie retail store in California in 1977.
Early life and education
Roy Raymond was born April 15, 1947, in Connecticut. H ...
for $1 million.
Also in 1982, 207
Lane Bryant
Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing. The company began in 1904 with maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein, Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin. Lane Bryant, Inc., is ...
stores were purchased. In 1985, the exclusive
Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
store on Fifth Avenue in New York City was purchased for $10 million and 798
Lerner Lerner is a German and Jewish family name. Its literal meaning can be either "student" or "scholar". It may refer to:
Organizations
* Lerner Enterprises, a real estate company
* Lerner Newspapers
* Lerner Publishing Group, a publisher of childr ...
stores for $297 million. Finally, in 1988, 25
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Februar ...
stores were purchased for $46 million. The Limited then ended its ownership of the A&F brand in 1996, when it was
spun off into a publicly traded company. In 1980, Limited founded Limited Express, later known simply as
Express
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
.
The 1990s included the initial development of the
Limited Too
Limited Too was a clothing and lifestyle retailer, and current brand, targeting the Tween (demographic), tween girl market, formerly owned by Tween Brands, Inc. (formerly known as Limited Too, Inc. and Too, Inc.). Since 2015, the brand has been own ...
(which was renamed Justice in 2008),
Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across 6 continents. In 1997, it was the largest bath shop chain in ...
, Structure, and
Victoria's Secret Beauty.
Galyan's
Galyan's Trading Company was an American sporting goods chain. It was founded in Plainfield, Indiana.
The store began in 1946 as a grocery store, founded by Albert and Naomi Galyan. By the 1960s, the Galyans began selling sporting goods instead. ...
, a sporting goods store, was also purchased. Later in 1998, several
Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across 6 continents. In 1997, it was the largest bath shop chain in ...
stores were converted to The White Barn Candle Company stores to begin a home fragrance brand.
On August 3, 2007, Limited Brands transferred 75% ownership of its flagship Limited chain to buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. In 2010, the remaining shares were sold to Sun Capital Partners Inc.
In 2013, Diane Ellis, president and chief operating officer of
Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...
, became the CEO of The Limited. In October 2016, she then left The Limited to join
Chico's leaving CFO John Buell to serve as interim CEO.
At the end of 2016, The Limited laid off a significant portion of its corporate workforce and women's fashion brand Altar'd State announced John Buell would be joining their team as CFO. As of the end of 2016, The Limited stores began selling inventory at significant discounts, with some news outlets reporting financial troubles for the chain.
In January 2017, The Limited announced that it would be closing all 250 of its stores, cutting 4,000 jobs. At the time of this announcement, the company said it would continue to sell apparel online. On January 17, The Limited announced it was filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
protection.
In February 2017, the brand was purchased by Sycamore Partners.
Belk
Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, ...
, Inc., a
Southern department store in the Sycamore portfolio, became the exclusive distributor for The Limited in September 2017. The Limited products were again available for purchase through Belk online in October 2017 and via The Limited brand online.
See also
*
List of defunct retailers of the United States
Below is a list of defunct retailers of the United States.
Across the United States, a large number of local stores and store chains that started between the 1920s and 1950s have become defunct since the late 1960s, when many chains were either ...
References
External links
Official The Limited website old— ''(archived)''
The Limited website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limited
Clothing retailers of the United States
Defunct retail companies of the United States
Companies based in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area
American companies established in 1963
Retail companies established in 1963
Retail companies disestablished in 2017
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017
1963 establishments in Ohio
2017 disestablishments in Ohio
Defunct companies based in Ohio
2007 mergers and acquisitions
Les Wexner