The Right To Zombify The Limited Sells For $26.8M

Image courtesy of Phillip Pessar

The Limited closed its retail stores and its online presence earlier this year, but don’t worry: A well-known brand never stays dead for long. Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm that owns other familiar, once-troubled retail brands like Belk, Coldwater Creek, Hot Topic, Jones New York, Talbots, and Torrid, purchased the brand’s intellectual property and online presence.

Reuters reports that Sycamore was the stalking horse bidder that expressed interest before the auction, and no higher bids were submitted.

This is a busy time for anyone interested in buying defunct apparel brands: Wet Seal, another bankrupt clothing retailer, plans to have its own auction sometime next month.

While the Limited stores been spun off into a separate company, it was the original ancestor of familiar mall brands that are still around today. L Brands, formerly known as Limited Brands, acquired and developed chains like Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, and turned Abercrombie & Fitch from a dusty outdoors outfitter brand into a hot teen clothing chain.

Does this mean Limited stores could return to malls? Maybe, but first you can expect to see the retailer’s website come back.

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