Victoria’s Secret Sale Caps End of Wexner’s Retail Empire

There was nothing angelic about the creator of Victoria’s little secrets, was there? Wexner knew nothing about Epstein’s escapades? I cannot walk by Wexner’s Stores without feeling anything but disgust and will never, ever step one foot in.

This is just a wink-wink deal. VS is going private by selling 55% to Sycamore (and who are the people funding Sycamore, a private equity firm, anyway?) and 45% to itself. And what is the role of L-Brand besides technically VS will no longer be on its balance sheet? Wexner is to become Chairman Emeritus? What does it all mean? This is one of those, the King is dead, long live the King deal

We are both the product and creators of our culture.

VS still exists?

The WHOLE story still hasn't been told. WHY did he GIVE his $75 Million Upper East Side mansion (the biggest, grandest in all of Manhattan) to Epstein???

Boy, it sure is good to see him go. What a foolish old man.

I remember when Wexner capitalized on the Out of Africa movie with his private label brand called Outback Red. The merch regurgitated over an over again in every mall. Manufacturers hailed him a retail genius, although many saw him as just another "garmento." Then came Victoria's Secret soft porn aesthetic, and the association with Epstein took the cake. Good riddance, L Brands.

Epstein, Wexner and Victoria's Secret - it all just crystallizes now.

I'm seeing many comments about how degrading Victoria's Secret is to women. That is interesting because if you've ever shopped at a VS store, most of the clients are women. Are they all mindless victims of male dominance or do they like the clothes?

So what will be left of L Brands if they sell Victoria's Secret and spin off Bath & Body Works?

Maybe he was brilliant with the mall but not in upscale retail like Bendels. L Brands ran that beautiful store into the ground. I watched it go from a place where my mom used to come home with the latest new makeup designer collection and the hottest new jewelry to a store for tourists where everything had an H or a Henri Bendel logo on it like it was located in the shopping area of an international airport for travellers. It used to be THE place to go for emerging makeup artists, jewelry and handbag designers, their clothing buyer even bought the most beautiful stuff from the same brands as others but the Foley and Corinna dress that they had, no one else, yet under L Brands, they didn't know how to train the sales staff to sell or keep a book to call you at first markdown so Saks was always better at that and got my sales.. but they were among the first to carry Herve Leger the real Herve and so many beautiful things before it became the airport store and eventually closed.. Wexner may have been a wizard once but as Jane Friedman former head of Harper Collins once said , there's a limit for how long you stay at the helm and his has long passed.. shame on Wexner for making NYC lose Bendels.

Make you wonder whose idea was it to have the much younger version of VS - Pink?!

Surely the buyer would empower women and have them as the C-Suites? If not, Victoria’s Secret will be the new Blockbuster Video. Irrelevant and nothing but a nostalgia brand.

Very strange the power and latitude this excessively private and business savvy man granted to Epstein.

Is it me, or does it sound like L brands and Wexner are trying to put lipstick on their pig? If Wexner will still be the chairman emeritus, then why should any of us continue to shop at Victoria’s Secret? Sorry, not buying.

When will the NYT, or any reputable media, report on the true nature of the 'personal relationship' between Wexner and his then-boy toy, Epstein? Coded references like "limitless comfort" [see linked article on relationship] are really tiresome, especially in the year 2020. Enough already with dancing around the full truth.

Is the Justice Department not looking into why Wexner gave Epstein such power and control over his substantial wealth? Why hasn't Wexner been supeoned and hauled in testify under oath? It is clear from all we've read about Epstein that he procured young women for his own indulgence, and most likely the indulgence of wealthy associates. What kind of filth did Epstein have on Wexner??

Is this the Wexner who never heard of Jeffrey Epstein? I'm so tired of looking at pictures of smiling degenerate American oligarchs who think that handing out "Rockefeller dimes" will get them a place in heaven.

Disgraced financier is a really odd way to say "most prolific child sexual abuser in recent memory"

I refused to believe that Wexner did not know what Epstein was up to. You don't give someone hundreds of millions of dollars of your own money to manage and not background check the heck out of him. Unless Wexner was extorted by Epstein, to cover up something hideous he had done. Either way, Wexner will never be able to purge the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein from his legacy.

Wexner joins a long list of retal pioneers who shaped a clothing and fashion industry. Kids got their first jobs working in mall stores, then moved into the working class and into three generations of the middle class. No denying Wexner and others' role in retail will fad into past tense. The remaining brands will find themselves on websites that will increase profit margines for private equity firms. Retail is a dying business, sorry to say. Regarding his ties and friendship to Epstein, bad personal decisions. Giving millions to charities, above reproach.

Alan Dershowitz's ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein? Corporations respond to perceptions. Bad perceptions can, and do, affect the public--as customers--and impact the corporate bottom line. Bad perceptions of politicians, by the exact same public--but, as voters--seemingly don't matter. If anything, in our surreal world, moral bankruptcy in politics seems to be a plus.

My brother-in-law worked for the Limited in Columbus back in the late ‘80s. As an industrial engineer, he had mixed feelings about the corporate culture fostered by Werner. We toured the New Albany utopian development located outside of Columbus, which was financed by Werner. I can’t say why, but the place did not convey any sense of community. For those readers unfamiliar with New Albany, I recommend doing a web search. Everything about the development was done on a grand scale, including the privately funded extension of the interstate from Columbus. Perhaps it was a reflection of a very private, and largely unknowable CEO, who never doubted his own decisions.

"Mr. Wexner will become chairman emeritus of L Brands when the deal is finalized, which is expected this spring." For that reason alone, I plan to avoid any L Bands company like the plague. Bath and Body Works will become its own public company -- I hope it is nearly worthless when the time comes. Bendel, Lane Bryant, the Limited and VC should meet a similar fate. No more money should be added to Wexner's pockets.

When I look in the window of a Victoria Secret, I find it hard to believe we are in the 21st century. Some women may love the items. To me, they represent the notion that women exist to be eye candy, to be sex objects. Women are to attractive by arousing a physical reaction-- primarily in men-- not by clever conversation or intellectual brilliance, or emotional warmth. If on-line sales of lingerie reduce the presence of Victoria Secret's window displays, society may benefit. Female and males walking in a mall would no longer be subject to the not-so-subliminal message that a woman's value is in the boudoir, not her character.

As a child of the 80's, I will always associate that era with the retail empire built by Leslie Wexner. In my town, The Limited was the hottest store in the mall. Girls at my high school practically kept score of how many tops, skirts, etc. from The Limited they owned. When Victoria's Secret came to our mall, it was a game-changer. As a young male, I would never have gone into the "intimates" section of the department store. But I bought gifts there for the women in my life, like perfume, pajamas, or robes, fairly regularly. The stores were gorgeous inside, and the staff were amazing. That era is over, but I hope Mr. Wexner realizes what a huge impact he had on the culture in this country. It's a real shame it has to end this way.