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Lord & Taylor

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Lord & Taylor, based in New York City, New York, is one of the oldest department store chains in the United States. The only surviving nameplate of the former Associated Dry Goods Corp., it has most recently operated as a division of Federated Department Stores. On June 22, 2006, Federated announced the unit's sale to a group of investors for $1.2 billion.[#endnote_sale]





Contents





A store of firsts

Samuel Lord and George Washington Taylor founded the company in 1826; it was the first major store on Fifth Avenue. Among other firsts, it was the first store to present innovative Christmas windows filled with holiday displays rather than merchandise, and the first to open a branch store (1941 in Manhasset). Lord & Taylor is also known for playing the national anthem before the start of each business day.    


In 1916 Lord & Taylor became a founding member of the American Dry Goods Co., soon after renamed Associated Dry Goods Corp. It was a long-time fashion leader and considered the “crown jewel” of Associated; when the May Company acquired ADG in 1986, it was assumed that May bought ADG just for Lord & Taylor.  



Dorothy Shaver

In 1945, Lord & Taylor became the first major store on Fifth Avenue to name a female as president. That woman was Dorothy Shaver.  


Shaver's association with Lord & Taylor began in 1921 when then-President Samuel Reyburn encouraged her to promote and market "Five Little Shavers," a family of dolls created by her sister, Elsie. Dorothy Shaver's challenges grew when she officially joined Lord & Taylor in 1924 as head of the Comparative Shopping Bureau.  It didn't take her long to re-channel the department's focus from the competition to Lord & Taylor's own customers, putting them first by providing one on one help as they made their selections. With that, the concept of the Personal Shopper was born, flourishing today at Lord & Taylor as Red Rose Personal Shopping Service. During her first few months with the store, she submitted an entirely unsolicited report to the president, analyzing what was wrong with the company and how to correct it.  


Shaver was given more responsibility, sales increased and, in 1927, her innovations earned her membership on Lord & Taylor's Board of Directors. In 1931, she was appointed Vice President, and became First Vice President in 1937. She was elected President in 1945, the first woman to head a major retail establishment in the United States.


Many of the Lord & Taylor's special services were introduced while  Shaver presided, and it was during this period that she introduced both the distinctive hand written logo (The Signature of American Style), and the American Beauty Rose as a symbol of the store. Her era ended officially upon her death in 1959, but Shaver's legacy and innovative retailing concepts continue at Lord & Taylor to this day.  


In June 2000, Lord & Taylor appointed its second female President & CEO, Jane Elfers, who remains at the helm of the venerable retailer. 



Expansion and retreat

While a part of Associated and under the leadership of CEO Joseph E. Brooks, during 1970s aggressively expanded into Texas, Illinois and Michigan and in the early 1980s south Florida saw 11 stores opened in quick succession. The chain partially withdrew from the oil-shocked Texas and southern Florida markets in 1989-1990 after its 1986 acquisition by May. 


Under May, the majority of ADG's Hahne & Co. division (six New Jersey locations) and several former John Wanamaker's and Woodward & Lothrop locations were assumed by Lord & Taylor. From 1997 to 2006, Lord & Taylor occupied the former Wanamaker's flagship store in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


During the 1990s and early 2000s, May attempted to take the chain national. Under the leadership of CEO Marshall Hillsberg, Lord & Taylor once again entered the expansion mode in the 1990s, opening stores as far west as Denver, with plans to enter the Las Vegas, Nevada market. At one time, Lord & Taylor had as many as 86 stores across the country.  


After continuing tepid results and repeated tinkering with its merchandising, May gave up its national ambitions for the division.  Newly appointed President and CEO Jane Elfers announced the shuttering of 32 stores in 2003 (representing 38% of locations, but only 18% of total sales). Many of the closed locations were only a few years old.  The company's strategy for the move was to concentrate on its "core" East Coast Corridor markets (New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., metro) as well its midwest locations in Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis.


Amidst these changes, Lord & Taylor ceded its postwar position as a fashion leader in the 1980s and 1990s to Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.



Moving forward after the 2003 restructuring

Following its dramatic restructuring in 2003, Lord & Taylor's leadership sought a return to the store's roots. Renewed focus was placed on creating and maintaining an upscale shopping experience in the remaining 54 locations, with determination to leave behind perception of a middle-of-the-road merchandising strategy.  Alterations such as conversion of remaining Lord & Taylor Cafés into Larry Forgione's Signature Cafés were evidence of the chain's intent to have a more clearly defined signature style.


Just three years later, the continuation of this effort came into doubt when the May Department Stores was acquired by Federated Department Stores on August 30, 2005. Lord & Taylor pursued the same market as Federated's Bloomingdale's chain, and on January 12, 2006, Federated chairman, president, and CEO Terry Lundgren announced that Lord & Taylor would be sold by the end of the year.



Current status

In early March 2006, prepping the company for sale, Federated announced that 5 underperforming Lord & Taylor stores would close, while the Center City, Philadelphia store, the former flagship of the John Wanamaker chain, would convert to Macy's, replacing the neighboring Strawbridge's flagship at The Gallery at Market East. On June 22, 2006, it announced that NDRC Equity Partners, LLC will purchase Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion [link].



Current locations










  • Washington, D.C. - Friendship Heights-Western Avenue (freestanding) - 146,000 sq ft. (opened 1959)







  • Orlando - The Florida Mall - 141,000 sq ft. (opened 2002, intended closing announced 2003, still open as of July 2006)





















This is a large Lord & Taylor department store at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Enlarge

This is a large Lord & Taylor department store at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater, New Jersey.


















Former locations


Previously closed stores (as part of July 2003 restructuring)



Previously closed stores (closed prior to 2003 restructuring)



Stores announced but never built/completed



References


  1. ↑  Forbes, Laurie, "[Federated To Sell 55-Store Lord & Taylor Chain]". The CoStar Group, 17 Jan 2006.
  2. ↑  "[Federated Agrees to Sell Lord & Taylor to NRDC Equity Partners]". Federated Department Stores, Inc., 22 June 2006.
    3. 

External links







 




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