Luxury retailer Lord & Taylor files for bankruptcy

Upscale department store chain Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy Sunday in Virginia, becoming the latest retail casualty of joint economic and health crises plaguing the embattled sector.

Le Tote Inc., a venture-backed fashion-rental subscription service, also filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, less than one year after purchasing Lord & Taylor from Saks Fifth Avenue parent company Hudson’s Bay Co., The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to Forbes, shoppers were shocked to find “Store Closing” signs posted in Lord & Taylor windows nationwide on Sunday even though the company has not yet issued a statement acknowledging the closures. The retailer operates 38 locations across the Northeast, along with a few stores in Florida and across the Midwest, and a company official told the publication about 20 sites had officially entered liquidation Sunday.

The chain joins a growing list of major clothing retailers shuttering operations since March, including Brooks Brothers Group Inc., J.C. Penney Co., Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. and J. Crew Group Inc., the Journal reported.

Founded in 1826, Lord & Taylor is touted as the nation’s oldest department store, Forbes reported.

Cox Media Group