Lord & Taylor will close all its stores under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, ending the department store’s nearly 200-year cycle.
The company said Thursday it would close all of its 38 stores in liquidation sales, a reversal of last week’s decision to keep 14 locations open if Chapter 11 follows.
Lord & Taylor, which started in 1824 as a dry goods store in Manhattan, was sold last year to the French rental clothing company Le Tote Inc.
Both filed for bankruptcy protection with the Eastern Court of Virginia earlier this month.
People walk past the former Lord & Taylor’s flagship store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan in 2018. Amazon bought the building earlier this month for $ 1 billion
A woman stops to read a farewell sign outside Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue flagship that closes for good, Wednesday, January 2, 2019 in New York
People were walking in 1935 at the Lord & Taylor store on Fifth Avenue
‘While we still miss several opportunities, we believe it is prudent to put the rest of the stores into liquidation at the same time to maximize the value of the inventory for the estate while maintaining the options for the company’s brands. follow, ‘said Ed Kremer, Le Tote’s chief restructuring officer. in a statement.
The company sold its 11-story flagship building on Fifth Avenue in New York last year, before the advent of coronavirus, which it had for more than a century.
The iconic building was bought by troubled partner company WeWork, before Amazon announced that it had taken over the building earlier this month for a new office in Manhattan.
Lord & Taylor’s business sales are expected to begin Thursday in most remaining stores and will include store inventory, such as fixtures, furniture and equipment, the company said.
Lord & Taylor, which started as a Manhattan dry goods store in 1824, was sold last year to the French clothing company Le Tote Inc.
Miss Louise White (in white) and Miss Winifred Brown (in brown), walk past a group of spectators on Fifth Avenue outside the Lord & Taylor Department Store in 1915
A customer talks to a saleswoman while shopping at Lord and Taylor’s store in April 1946, in New York City
Dozens of retailers, large and small, have applied for Chapter 11 protection this year. The pace through the first half of 2020 is greater than the number of retail bankruptcies for last year.
About two dozen stores have sought bankruptcy protection since the pandemic began.
They include J. Crew, JC Penney, Neiman Marcus, Stage Stores, and Ascena Retail Group, which in addition to Ann Taylor also has Lane Bryant.
The owners of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos A. Bank also filed for bankruptcy on the same day as Lord & Taylor.
Custom brands, which have Men’s Wearhouse and Jos A. Bank stores, are still struggling before order-on-place orders stifle any demand for suits or bows. It was not alone.
A pedestrian walks past the Lord and Taylor store in Boston on Aug. 4. Lord and Taylor, filed for bankruptcy, intend to close two stores in Boston area.
Pedestrians walk past a shuttered department store Lord and Taylor following their filing for bankruptcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 12, 2020 in Garden City, New York
Last month, Brooks Brothers, the 200-year-old company that sued almost every U.S. president, filed for bankruptcy protection. Its rival, Barneys New York, is being dismantled after filing for bankruptcy last year.
Custom Marks filed Sunday for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of Texas.
Men’s Wearhouse and Jos A. Bank Stores, along with K&G Fashion Superstore and Moores Clothing for Men, all owned by Tailored, will continue to operate in restructuring. The company expects to reduce its financed debt by at least $ 630 million.
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