The Limited Bought by CP Brands

CP Brands Group (New York) has purchased The Limited and has big plans for its return, reports Women’s Wear Daily.

CP Brands, headed by CEO Eli Yedid, acquired the once-high flying from Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm that bought the brand in 2016 for $26.8 million. Terms of this deal were not disclosed but Yedid told WWD he partnered with Harry Adjmi, CEO of One Step Up, on the purchase and they “got a really good deal.”

The Limited, founded by Les Wexner in 1963, had a high-profile run as a groundbreaking and popular women’s sportswear chain. It became a public company in 1989 and continued to grow into ’90s, becoming a staple in shopping malls around the country. But as tastes changed, the business began to struggle and in 2017, it closed all its stores and filed bankruptcy. Sycamore acquired the trademark through a bankruptcy auction and used the name to create a private-label brand at another of its holdings, Belk stores.

Yedid said the deal for using of The Limited name was set to expire at the end of 2026 and it would have cost Belk’s new owners $10 million a year to retain the private brand, which they declined.

“My team and I are always on the lookout for heritage brands that can be refreshed and rebranded,” said Yedid, whose company was formerly known as formerly Cutie Pie Baby and also owns such brands as Thomas Pink, Vince, RBX and others. “I think there’s a lot of value from a business standpoint in doing that. And we’re ready to recreate and reinvigorate a brand that’s been around since 1963.”

He also said limiting its distribution to the 290 Belk stores was “absolutely a missed opportunity.”

Once product is available, Yedid plans to open a pop-up in New York to see if bringing the brand back as a physical space should be part of the plan. “Retail today is difficult and we’re going to want to have proof of concept before we open a store,” he told WWD.

The acquisition allows CP to branch out into a category that was missing within the company. “We had a vacancy in the portfolio,” he said. “I have athleisure, outdoor apparel, men’s luxury, and all kinds of other brands, but we didn’t have women’s sportswear.”