2019-08-05_Bloomberg_Businessweek-Europe_Edition

(Nandana) #1

B U S I N E S S


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Edited by
James E. Ellis and
Dimitra Kessenides

Timeisn’tbeingkindtoVictoria’sSecret.The
lingerieretailerhasa problemwiththepastanda
problemwiththefuture—andthatleavesthepres-
entina muddleofcontroversy.
JeffreyEpsteinis supposedtobehistoryatthe
company—andatitsparent,LBrandsInc.,forthat
matter—buthe’sthatskeletonthatkeepsrattling
aroundtheclosettoremindeveryonehewasonce
anall-too-livelypartofthebusiness.Epsteinhada
two-decade-longreignascloseconfidant,financial
manager,andrighthandtothecorporation’schief
executiveofficer,LeslieWexner.Heevenhadthe
CEO’spowerofattorneyatonetime.
Althoughhewasn’tanemployeeatVictoria’s
Secret,Epsteinalsoinfluencedthewaythelin-
geriecompanyoperated,associatingwiththe
division’schiefmarketingofficer,EdRazek.In
2005,forexample,Razekwasa guestatEpstein’s
Manhattanmansion,welcomedbyyoungwomen
whosaidtheywereworkingasmodelsforEpstein.
RazektoldfellowguestWilliamMook,headofMok
IndustriesLLCinColumbus,Ohio,thatVictoria’s
SecretusedEpsteinmodelsandthathisgirlswere
in“themajorleague,”accordingtoMook.
Epstein’srelationshipwithWexnerandLBrands
officially ended in 2007, a year and a half after the

financierwaschargedwithseveralcountsofsexual
misconduct in Florida. He pleaded guilty to one
charge and spent just 13 months in prison with
work-release privileges. That penalty was widely
derided as exceedingly lenient and, after sex traf-
ficking charges against Epstein were resurrected in
July, fresh outrage over the 2007 plea deal led to
the resignation of U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta,
who’d been the U.S. attorney in Miami in charge of
theprosecution.Epsteinnowsitsina Manhattan
jailawaitingtrial—andperhapsmorerevelationsof
salacioussecrets.OnJuly23 he was found injured
in his cell and put on suicide watch.
L Brands’effortstodistanceitselffromEpstein
maynothavebeenallthatcleana break.Epsteinat
onepointhada $1million investment in MC2 Model
Management, according to a sworn deposition by a
former company bookkeeper. MC2 is owned by Jean-
Luc Brunel, a Frenchman who’s alleged in a civil law-
suit to have brought girls as young as 12 to the U.S.
for sexual purposes and provided them to Epstein
and other friends. Brunel even visited Epstein when
he was first imprisoned in 2008. Victoria’s Secret
continued to work with MC2-represented models
after Wexner severed ties with Epstein. At least three
MC2 models walked in its 2015 fashion show, and

Bloomberg Businessweek August 5, 2019

It’s a Man’s World


A modeling agency linked to Jeffrey
Epstein is just one of the chain’s worries
Free download pdf