News began circulating just before Christmas that The Limited was quietly working to shutter stores in malls around the country, but without a whole lot of other details being provided. Local news outlets across the US mostly reported the closures as isolated incidences, noting that their local stores were having inventory-clearing events with deeply discounted sales and no-return policies put into place.
While The Limited has continued to mostly remain quiet about the closures, Bloomberg has reported insider knowledge that the chain is planning to file for bankruptcy, and Glamour magazine is stating that the closure will affect all stores, and not just a selection of them.
“The possible liquidation comes as top executives depart the company,” explained Jodi Xu Klein at Bloomberg. “John Buell, who had become Limited’s interim chief executive officer in October, departed this month to become chief financial officer at apparel retailer Altar’d State. Diane Ellis, his predecessor as Limited’s CEO, left the company in early November.”
According to Glamour, all stores are expected to be closing tomorrow, Saturday, January 7th.
“The Limited’s demise comes as scores of once-beloved mall brands, such as Delia’s and Wet Seal, face similar struggles,” stated Karen Brill of Glamour.
The Limited was founded in Columbus in 1963 by Les Wexner, and was long the namesake behind the multi-brand company Limited Brands that grew to include Victoria’s Secret, Express, Bath & Body Works and others. The Limited was sold off in 2007 and Limited Brands was renamed to L Brands in 2013.
The only place (thus far) that The Limited has acknowledged the closure is on their store locator page of their website, where the following message can be found:
“We’re sad to say that all The Limited stores nationwide have officially closed their doors. But this isn’t goodbye. The styles you love are still available online – We’re just a quick click away 24 hours a day.”
The Limited had four locations in Central Ohio, located at Easton Town Center, Polaris Fashion Place, The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, and The Tanger Outlet Mall.
For more information, visit www.thelimited.com.