Iconic department store chain Lord & Taylor is set to make a comeback.
Regal Brands Global, the new owner of the 198-year-old retailer, plans to relaunch the business in 2025 as a luxury discount e-commerce platform offering designer and Lord & Taylor-branded products. Business of Fashion reported on Friday.
According to Business of Fashion, the online store will source inventory from distributors and sell a variety of products manufactured by licensees, allowing shoppers to shop for women’s clothing, footwear, small leather goods, special occasion dresses and more. You can expect products in the following categories.
Sheena Yenel, chief brand and strategy officer at Regal Brands, told the outlet that the company envisions a revitalized brand as a destination for quality and diversity.
“My idea is to have all these master manufacturers behind the brand to create different products,” Yenel told Business of Fashion.
A family walks into the Lord & Taylor LLC store at Fair Oaks Mall on November 12, 2012 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Andrew Haller/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File
Regal Brands Global will open in September 2024 after previous owner Saadia Group (which had previously relaunched the chain as an e-commerce website in 2021) ceased operations earlier this year. Acquired Lord & Taylor’s intellectual property. The brand will now focus on off-price retail and licensing rather than re-entering brick-and-mortar stores, a move Yenel believes is in line with current retail trends.
“We’re leaving the brick-and-mortar game to the big players who are already in the market,” Jenel told Business of Fashion.
Instead of operating its own stores, Regal Brands is reportedly aiming to place Lord & Taylor products in high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. These strategies reflect the rise of successful off-price models, as seen in retailers such as TJ Maxx.
Founded in 1826, Lord & Taylor became a well-known brand in the women’s clothing industry during the 19th and 20th centuries. But the department store has struggled in recent decades due to e-commerce disruption and changing consumer tastes. By 2020, after several ownership changes, the brand had closed all of its remaining stores amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, under Regal Brands Global, Lord & Taylor hopes to regain relevance through a dual approach of online sales and licensed products. The company has already signed several licensing deals and reportedly plans to have Lord & Taylor-branded products in stores by early 2025.
ABC News reached out to Regal Brands for comment on the renewal news, but did not immediately receive a response.
