Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima can finally buy the lingerie she hawks in her native country.

Brazil, which has been fertile ground for Victoria’s Secret models, now has its first Victoria’s Secret store, but it isn’t the sprawling mecca to intimates that U.S. shoppers are accustomed to seeing.

Columbus, Ohio-based Limited Brands Inc. said it opened four “travel and tourism” stores in the quarter ended August 1, 2009 in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aries, Argentina; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The company said it will open a fifth shop in Barbados in September, with a Mexico City store also possible this year.

“The early response to these stores has been phenomenal, and we believe that this is a clear indication of the strength of our brands outside the United States,” Limited chief administrative officer Martyn Redgrave said in an August 20 report to securities analysts.

“We are very excited about the potential for future growth in these travel and tourism shops,” he said.

The stores, ranging from 600 square feet to 1,000 square feet, are owned and operated by licensees, not by Limited Brands. Some are in airports, but the company declined to specify which ones.

Redgrave said the stores carry an assortment of lingerie, accessories, beauty aids, gifts, and its Pink line for younger women. The accessories selection includes travel items such as passport holders, luggage tags, sunglasses, and key rings.

Exciting edge

East Rutherford, New Jersey-based Hudson Group owns and runs the JFK shop, the only Victoria’s Secret in a U.S. airport.

Dufry AG, the Swiss parent of Hudson Group, is Limited Brands’ partner in the duty-free Brazilian, Argentine, and Barbadian shops.

Dufry and Hudson Group oversee more than 1,000 stores in 137 airports, seaports, railway stations, and tourist spots.