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