11. Limited Brands
Columbus, OH
www.limited.com
Beauty sales: $3.1 billion (estimated)
Corporate sales: $10.6 billion
Key Personnel:
Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and chief executive officer; Leonard A. Schlesinger, vice chairman and chief operating officer; Martyn R. Redgrave, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer; Diane Neal, chief executive officer, Bath & Body Works.
Products/Brands:
Victoria’s Secret Beauty—fragrances, skin care and cosmetics; Bath & Body Works—personal care and beauty products, including C.O. Bigelow.
New Products:
Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy Makeup, Beauty Rush Lip Gloss and Eye Shadows and Dream Angels Desire fragrance. Bath & Body Works—Signature Collection fragrances.
Comments:
According to company data, Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Bath & Body Works (BBW), together, represent the fifth largest personal care and beauty company in the U.S. The company credited the 10% gain in Bath & Body Works’ comparable store sales to increases in the signature collection, due to frequent, new fragrance introductions throughout the year; incremental sales from the Temptations product line; and continued growth in the Dr. Patricia Wexler, Antibacterial and Breathe Body Care product lines.
BBW has plent of potential.
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Last year, BBW sales topped $2.5 billion, and the company says there’s still plenty of room for growth in categories such as hair care and dermatological skin care. The company plans to add about 50 new BBW stores this year, primarily in non-mall locations, and put more emphasis on catalog and Internet sales. At the same time, the BBW brand is undergoing a total makeover from its former country-inspired homey look to more of a modern apothecary feel. The line’s new tagline, “Beauty for Body and Soul,” targets rising interest in a more holistic approach. C.O. Bigelow portrays more of an old-time apothecary feel.
Sales of beauty products helped Victoria’s Secret sales jump 11% in fiscal 2006. Growth in beauty came from continued expansion in the Garden body care line and incremental sales from beauty launches, including Very Sexy Makeup, Beauty Rush Lip Gloss and Eye Shadows and Dream Angels Desire Fragrance.
In June, Diane Neal, president and chief operations officer for Bath & Body Works, was promoted to chief executive officer. She had served as COO since joining Bath & Body Works in November 2006. Neal replaced Neil Fiske who left to become Eddie Bauer’s CEO. The company has also appointed Bill May as chief operating officer for Victoria’s Secret stores.
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