12. Limited Brands
Columbus, OH
www.limited.com
Beauty Sales: $3 billion (estimated) for Bath & Body Works, White Barn and Victoria’s Secret personal care products.
Corporate Sales: $10.1 billion

Key Personnel: Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and chief executive officer; Martyn R. Redgrave, executive vice president and chief administrative officer; Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, chief financial officer; Sharen J. Turney, chief executive officer and president, Victoria’s Secret Megabrand and intimate apparel; Diane Neal, chief executive officer and president, Bath & Body Works.

Products/Brands: Victoria’s Secret Beauty—fragrances, skin care and cosmetics; Bath & Body Works—personal care, beauty and home fragrance products marketed under the Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow and The White Barn Candle Company.

New Products:  Bath & Body Works—Midnight Pomegranate body care; The White Barn Candle Company—Red Hot Passion, Tahitian Coffee and Tea home fragrance collections.

Victoria’s Secret’s Supermodel fragrance was right on target with Limited Brand’s vision for the year—to make customers feel sophisti- cated, young and sexy.

Comments: “As we begin this year, we have a laser-like focus on performance—no ifs, ands or buts.” These are the words that Limited Brands chairman and CEO Leslie H. Wexner chose to start off the company’s 2007 annual report, balancing his statement that the company’s leadership team had been dissatisfied with performance—and slight declines in sales, blamed on a soft market—and that the focus would now be on infrastructure and distribution in the year ahead. He emphasized his vision for the coming year and the future: to make customers feel sophisticated, young and sexy and to grow core brands in current locations and extend them into new channels. In an effort to focus on core brands, Wexner, who started Limited Brands as a clothing business in 1963, stripped its majority interest in Express and Limited stores and instead, acquired Canadian lingerie retailer La Senza, stocking the outlets with Victoria’s Secret Beauty products.
  
For the year, Bath & Body Works reported sales of $2.5 billion, while Victoria’s Secret rang up $5.6 million (with no breakdown as to clothing/personal care).
  
In August, Limited Brands reported that second quarter 2008 earnings had exceeded expectations even in “a challenging environment,” in which earnings had decreased sharply. Second quarter operating income was $185.2 million compared to $318.9 million last year, and net income was $102 million compared to $264.4 million last year.
  
The latest report showed a decrease of 7% in comparable store sales for the four weeks ended August 30, 2008 compared to the four weeks ended September 1, 2007. The company reported net sales of $588.4 million for the four weeks ended August 30, 2008, an increase of 4% compared to net sales of $565.2 million last year. A comparable store sales decrease of 7% was reported for the 30 weeks ended August 30, 2008. Net sales were $4.8 billion compared to net sales of $5.5 billion last year.