Lord & Taylor, the oldest U.S. department store chain, has filed for bankruptcy protection with a plan to liquidate its stores.
Last year, fashion rental subscription service Le Tote bought Lord & Taylor for $100 million from Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Co., taking over its 38 locations. Hudson’s Bay Company had acquired the retailer in 2012.
Lord & Taylor opened its first store in New York in 1826, making it the nation’s first department store. Once a mainstay of high-end fashion, Lord & Taylor is credited with inventing the department store window display in the 1930s, as well as launching the first personal shoppers and installing the first elevator in the 1950s.
Le Tote also sought Chapter 11 protection from creditors in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Founded in 2012, Le Tote rents women’s clothing and accessories for a flat monthly fee. Backers of the San Francisco company include venture-capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and Google Venture
In March, Lord & Taylor temporarily closed its 38 bricks & mortar locations but maintained online selling. In court papers, Lord & Taylor said it would hold going-out-of-business sales at the Lord & Taylor stores anticipating a liquidation of its brick & mortar footprint.
The most-profitable locations will continue to be marketed in the hopes of generating interest, Chief Restructuring Officer Ed Kremer said in court papers.
Photo courtesy Lord & Taylor
