L Brands

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

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.