Having a market more or less to yourself is a great thing. Sure, women can shop for lingerie at Dillards (NYSE:DDS), Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD), Target (NYSE:TGT), and plenty of other places, but Limited Brands' (NYSE:LTD) Victoria's Secret is still the only successful nationwide stand-alone seller in this product category. And based on this quarter, it sure seems like you can make full-bodied profits from rather skimpy goods.

Companywide sales were up 5% in the first quarter, with same-stores coming in at a like amount. Margins improved pretty meaningfully, though, and reported operating income jumped 57%. Net income and earnings per share likewise showed very strong percentage growth from the prior year's quarter.

You really don't have to look too hard to see where the growth came from this time around. At Victoria's Secret, sales were up 10%, comps were up 8%, and operating income rose 21%. To put that in perspective, this single unit contributed about 85% of the company's segment operating income.

Performance was a bit more mixed elsewhere in the company. Bath and Body Works' comp-store growth of 4% seems alright to me, but the decline in operating income was a little annoying. In the apparel business, overall comps were up 1% and operating income reversed a year-ago loss -- as Express continued to improve and Limited continued to wither.

Limited Brands' performance stands in sharp contrast to the recent meltdown at female-oriented retailer Chico's (NYSE:CHS), and the questionable performance at Talbots (NYSE:TLB). And with Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN) posting what looked like solid numbers, it would seem that the trouble isn't so much with women's retailing as it is with some operators in particular.

I'm glad to see this turnaround coming around like it has. As long as Victoria can do all the heavy lifting, I don't see a reason to jump off this bandwagon just yet.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).