Which company owned Victoria’s Secret before it became part of L Brands?

The Limited owned Victoria’s Secret before the parent company became known as L Brands.

The Limited, Inc. acquired Victoria’s Secret in 1982, five years after Roy and Gaye Raymond founded the retailer. The acquisition helped turn a small California-based lingerie business into a much larger national retail operation.

The Limited expanded Victoria’s Secret through mall stores, catalogs, and strong brand marketing. In 1986, the company took Victoria’s Secret public as part of its growing retail portfolio. The corporate parent later changed its name from The Limited, Inc. to Limited Brands in 2002 and then to L Brands in 2013.

The Limited is not the same company as the modern Victoria’s Secret & Co. The lingerie business separated from L Brands in 2021 and became an independent public company.