Leslie H. “Les” Wexner (born September 8, 1937) is an American businessman. He is chairman and CEO of the L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) corporation.
Early life
Wexner was born to a Jewish family in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Bella (nee Cabakoff) and Harry Wexner. He has one sister, Sarah. He attended Ohio State University, majoring in business administration. He became a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He briefly attended the Moritz College of Law.
Career
Wexner started working in his parents’ clothing store. While they were away on vacation he analyzed the profit and loss margins on the Women’s clothing that they sold. He found that although higher priced clothing (e.g. jackets) cost more money, they sold less often than blouses which sold at a faster rate. When he told his father this, his father was not interested in changing his inventory.
In 1963, Wexner was loaned $5,000 from his aunt to start The Limited (so named because the store focused on a limited amount of merchandise that turned over quickly and had a higher profit margin, unlike his parent’s store).
The Limited opened its first store in the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. Wexner’s parents closed their store one year later and joined their son at The Limited. Wexner took Limited Brands public in 1969, listed as LTD on the NYSE. Wexner is the longest serving CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Wexner was ranked #11 on Harvard Business Review’s Top 100 Best Performing CEOs of 2015, and #34 in 2016.
Over the years he built a retailing and marketing conglomerate, which currently includes: Victoria’s Secret, Pink (Victoria’s Secret), Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza. Previous brands that have spun off include: Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner New York, The Limited Too (now Tween Brands, Inc.), Structure 9, Aura Science, The Limited, and Express.
Wexner is founder and chairman of L Brands, the owner of more than 3,000 women’s apparel and beauty stores. The Columbus, Ohio-based retailer has locations in the U.S., U.K., Canada and China, and reported revenue of $12.6 billion in the year to Feb. 3, 2018. Its stores includes Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works.
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