Limited Will Sell Lerner Woman Unit

Women’s clothing retailer the Limited Inc., which entered the larger-sizes market in the early 1980s, announced Monday that it would sell its discount Lerner Woman division to a management group led by the division’s president.

The sale will enable the company to concentrate on Lane Bryant, its higher-priced flagship outlet for larger sizes, and other stores, an analyst said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Limited spokesman Alfred Dietzel said the selling price, in cash and securities, was expected to approximate the book value of Lerner Woman’s assets.

The deal is expected to be completed in June, the company said.

Lerner was created in 1986 as an offshoot of Lane Bryant and merged with discount chain Sizes Unlimited the next year. Aimed mostly at discount shoppers seeking larger sizes, the 382-store chain had sales of $223.7 million in 1988.