Victoria’s Secret rebrands, becomes independently traded company

Updated: Aug 2, 2021 / 10:15 AM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25: Underwear is displayed in a window at a Victoria’s Secret store on February 25, 2021 in San Francisco, California. L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, announced plans to close 30 to 50 stores in the U.S. and Canada after shuttering over 400 in 2020. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (NewsNation Now) — Victoria’s Secret officially separated from its parent company, the L Brands, Monday as both corporations rebrand.

The spin-off of Victoria’s Secret from L Brands has been in the works for over a year, but became official Monday. Victoria’s Secret began on the New York Stock Exchange as VSCO.

The split comes as Victoria’s Secret looks to modify its image to be more inclusive and compete in the athleisure market.

Victoria’s Secret ditched the infamous angel models in June as a part of that initiative. It also announced partnerships with famous women including Megan Rapinoe and Priyanka Chopra to encourage women’s empowerment.

“We are proud to bring together an unparalleled group of trailblazing partners who share a common goal to drive positive change,” the brand said in a statement at the time of the announcement.

All Victoria’s Secret stores aim to match the rebranding in the next few months according to Business Insider with more inclusive mannequins, less risque images of models adorning the store walls and more casual wear products placed throughout the stores.

Victoria’s Secret was to be sold to Sycamore Partners last year but the private equity firm sued to get out of the deal citing the coronavirus pandemic. At that point, Victoria’s Secret was forced to close stores and sales, which had been falling as the brand fell out of favor, evaporated.

L Brands itself will rebrand as Bath and Body Works Inc on Aug. 3. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange as BBWI.

The corporation received scrutiny for its founder Les Wexner’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein along with the lack of diversity on the company’s board. Wexner and his wife retired from the company in 2021.

Victoria’s Secret’s new board will include six women and one man.

The Associated Press contributed to this report