Ex-Limited Employees Re-launch Eloquii

A group of former employees of Limited Brands Inc. (Columbus, Ohio) has re-launched the plus-size clothing line Eloquii that Limited launched in 2011 and closed in 2013.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the new Eloquii will operate as an an independent retailer focusing on online sales for the moment.

However, said the Dispatch, the owners hope to add a bricks-and-mortar presence “as the brand re-establishes itself.”

“We were very, very pleased with our progress under The Limited,” said Steve Zawada, one of the former employees who is chief operating officer of the new Eloquii.

The company has eight full-time employees and a handful of freelance workers and consultants. It will be based in Columbus.

The Limited launched Eloquii as a plus-size clothing line in October 2011. But before Eloquii reached the two-year mark, Sun Capital Partners Inc. (Boca Raton, Fla.), owner of The Limited, switched its focus to “core brands” and get rid of the rest.

“We knew there was still a lot of opportunity,” said Mariah Chase, Eloquii’s ceo. “Within days of the closing announcement, we were contacted by private investors interested in starting up a plus-size brand,” and that the Eloquii name had built equity among its target audience.

Among the Eloquii principals is creative director Jodi Arnold.

The name Eloquii is a made-up word meant to imply style “with elegance.”