Under its own flag now
“When we first announced that Limited Stores was going to look for a buyer, it was very emotional for many of our associates who had been here for a long time,” Heasley says. “Initially, I think people were very shaken.”
That didn’t last long. With Heasley and then-co-president Avra Myers touting the potential upsides to being independent of Limited Brands, associates’ reservations about the sale gradually diminished.
“We’ve been turning it into a good thing,” Heasley says. “It has actually caused us to become closer as a company.”
The key to getting associates to rally around the opportunity that a sale offered, she says, was consistent, open communication.
“The whole time we were interviewing prospective purchasers or owners, we sent out communication to the field to let them know how the meetings were going,” she says.
Heasley also set up round-table discussions with associates over breakfast and installed boxes around the Columbus headquarters as well as the New York offices for associates to submit anonymous questions about the impending sale. She sent out e-mails. She did monthly meetings in Columbus that were video conferenced in New York and vice versa.
“We demonstrated our willingness to share with them as we had information,” Heasley says. “We weren’t keeping anything back. As soon as I knew something that someone was wondering about, we would get that information out to them. I found that multiple touchpoints were good. They seemed to like the e-mails so I tried to do one every two to three weeks saying, ‘This is what we know.’”
When the buyout by Sun Capital was finalized on Aug. 3, 2007, associates were ready to celebrate.
“We threw an Independence Day party,” Heasley says. “And we created our own ‘Declaration of Independence.’” A large copy of the missive hangs framed on the wall outside Heasley’s office.
“We wrote it ourselves, and then we signed it,” she says. “I think people were really energized by the whole thing.”
Of course, some acts of independence — such as securing a completely separate location outside the Morse Road campus of Limited Brands and undergoing a name change to further differentiate the stores from their former corporate owner — were not included in the deal. Still, Heasley says a name change is not off the table.
“We have talked about it,” she says. “But we don’t have an answer yet. That is on the list of things that we are thinking about. It’s a tough call. The Limited has got a great history.”
So stay tuned. Another declaration of independence could come later this year.
