Lord & Taylor plans to liquidate inventory in its 38 department stores once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted as it braces for a bankruptcy process from which it does not expect to emerge.
A high-profile retailer, Lord & Taylor was founded in 1826 and billed as the oldest in the United States; now it does not expect to survive the pandemic’s economic fallout.
Fashion rental service start-up Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor last year from Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Company for $71 million.
Lord & Taylor is one of the world’s oldest department store operators, founded by two English immigrants on the Lower East Side in New York City in 1826. During the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s, it opened a special section offering mourning apparel for widows.
Lord & Taylor opened its flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in 1914, and became known for upscale fashion and its holiday window display.
