the limited finds its future in the past
04/27/2005 08:54:00 AM 
Finding inspiration from the success of Kiehl's, The Limited have teamed up with Americas oldest Pharmacy, C.O. Bigelow, to develop an entirely new old brand. The Limited didnt buy Bigelow, instead, they are licensing the name.
C.O. Bigelow is a Greenwich Village pharmacy that was founded in 1838, and used to count Eleanor Roosevelt, Mark Twain and Thomas Edison as customers.
The Limited's goal is to open five to ten stand-alone stores, but to also develop a line that can be introduced in all Bath and Bodyworks stores. This line is based around and created from product recipies that are over 100 years old.
Much of the packaging has been designed by New York based studio, WL2.
The C.O Bigelow store is almost a European style perfumery/pharmacy that retails over 100 other brands as well as its own line. This first protoype store opened last October in the Easton Center in The Limited's hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
This idea looks very smart because it fits a number of current trends including the increasing desire for authenticity and the search for holistic and therapeutic approaches to health. As trends tend to be bi-polar, The Limited is tapping into those at the opposite end of the modern, celebrity scale.
In addition, it shows that there are opportunities for brands to add an authentic edge by finding older concepts. A.G. Spalding and Brothers is another interesting example.
The famous Spalding family known for their exploits in baseball also owned a huge stationery store and business in New York City. Some years back, an Italian company licensed the stationery brand story and identity and used it to create a line of luggage, stationery, watches and pens.
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