Not sure if this is 1000% accurate but here is the update on the Limited Stores headquarter layoffs and closures:
The specialty-retail chain that Leslie H. Wexner founded in the early 1960s and then sold nearly a decade ago might shut down its corporate offices in New Albany amid a slump in sales and debt pressures.
Limited Stores has told all 248 employees at the offices that they would lose their jobs if the offices are closed.
The notices do not indicate what will happen with the chain's 250 stores. Easton Town Center representatives said last week they have not received word about a change of status for the store there.
Employees at The Limited corporate offices represent about 2 percent of New Albany's workforce, said city spokesman Scott McAfee.
The city doesn't know how many jobs The Limited ultimately will cut, McAfee said, but is working with the New Albany Chamber of Commerce to reach out to other retail partners to see if skills they possess would be applicable at other companies.
One industry expert said the timing of the announcement is odd because apparel stores such as The Limited are geared up for what is their busiest time of the year. Typically, such an announcement would take place after the holidays, said Lee Peterson, an executive vice president at WD Partners, a Dublin retail-consulting group.
"To not even be able to wait a month is pretty drastic," he said. "They must be under a lot of pressure from the debt."
Florida-based Sun Capital Partners has owned the chain since 2007, when the private-equity firm bought the chain from L Brands, the Wexner-led parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Last month, the owners said they were exploring a sale of the chain. About the same time, the chain lost its CEO, Diane Ellis, to Chico's, a specialty retailer of women's clothing and accessories based in Fort Myers, Florida.
In a letter to the employees last week, the privately held company said its results for the most recent quarter were disappointing.
"As you know, product misses and massive shifts in retail shopping trends have been especially difficult for the company's business, and the company is dealing with significant debt obligations," wrote Larry Fultz, an executive vice president and chief operating officer.
"We have now determined that the combination of sales misses and the level of existing financial obligations will require that the company be sold or we will have to wind down our operations due to an anticipated lack of operating capital."
The company said it is considering bids from potential buyers, and it is hopeful that a buyer would continue the company's operations, but there are no assurances that will happen. Employees were told that layoffs could have started as soon as Dec. 2 or within two weeks.
"It is anticipated that such layoffs would be permanent and, depending upon the circumstances, could affect our entire operations in New Albany," Fultz wrote.
Company officials could not be reached for further comment last week.
The Limited stores sell apparel geared toward professional women 25 to 40 years old. When Ellis took over as CEO in 2014, she told The Columbus Dispatch that the retailer's customer is a "sophisticated professional" who is more concerned about good value than just price.
"We found that the No. 1 reason our (customer) shops is to treat herself. So we need to offer a spa experience, something that feels indulgent," Ellis said. "With our stores, we need to create an experience around her. We have an opportunity to become more high-touch, more about giving style advice."
Traditional retailers just can't change fast enough for quickly evolving trends, Peterson said. Other apparel retailers also have reported disappointing results in recent quarters.
"It's a tough category to begin with, mature females buying business attire. ... The whole look is much more casual," Peterson said.
Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and another $5,000 from a bank to open the first Limited store at Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington in 1963.
Wexner decided to call the store The Limited because he intentionally limited its appeal to women.
With that opening, Wexner create the concept of specialty retailing and helped fuel the growth of shopping malls. Wexner ultimately dubbed the parent company Limited Brands in 2002 to differentiate it from the original chains, and he expanded the company portfolio through the creation of companies such as Limited Express, Limited Too and Bath & Body Works and through the acquisitions of names such as Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, Henri Bendel and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Many of those brands were later sold or spun off.
Limited Stores' presence was once so significant that the chain sold 200 million pieces of apparel a year – three pieces of apparel for every woman between the ages of 15 and 55.
Wexner told The Dispatch in 2012 that although the original chain was important to him, "life moves on."
ThisWeek staff writer Sarah Sole contributed to this story.
mawilliams@dispatch.com