Lord & Taylor has officially closed its flagship store on Fifth Avenue after more than 100 years in business.
- Parent company Hudson's Bay announced in October 2017 that WeWork had purchased the building that the flagship store is located in for $850 million.
- As many as 10 more Lord & Taylor stores are expected to close through 2019.
- We visited the century-old Lord & Taylor store as it was beginning its clearance sales and returned 10 days later. Here's what it was like.
Lord & Taylor has officially closed its flagship store on Fifth Avenue after more than 100 years in business.
Parent company Hudson's Bay, which also owns Saks Fifth Avenue, said it expects to close up to 10 of its nearly 50 Lord & Taylor locations through 2019.
Moving into the flagship store will be WeWork, which is purchasing the space for $850 million.
Hudson's Bay reported in December that its overall comparable sales increased 2.9% in the most recent quarter, largely thanks to growth at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Like many other department stores, Lord & Taylor has struggled for a number of reasons in recent years. The rise of e-commerce, declining foot traffic to malls, and a higher demand for off-price products are just some of the factors that have caused department stores to suffer in recent years. Several department-store chains, including both Macy's and JCPenney, have recently closed locations across the country as they struggle to adapt to shoppers' changing habits.
Though its flagship store is now closed, Lord & Taylor is working with Walmart and launching a dedicated shop on the retailer's website. The new shop features products from more than 125 brands that are more upscale than the typical Walmart offering.
The department store remained open through the holidays, scaling back its iconic window decorations from six displays to just two.
Business Insider visited the iconic Lord & Taylor at the beginning of its clearance sales and 10 days later, and it had already undergone a staggering transformation. Here's what it was like to visit as it prepared to close:
Lord & Taylor's flagship store on Fifth Avenue had massive "final sale" signs in all of the windows outside the store.
Above the doorway were more "everything must go" sale signs.
When we visited the store as it was beginning its clearance sales, it was bright and spotlessly clean, and there were sale signs everywhere.
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