The nation’s oldest department store chain, Lord & Taylor, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of bankruptcies declared by some of America’s most iconic brands, the Yahoo Finance reports.
Founded in New York City in 1824 and adopting the name Lord & Taylor in 1926, the department store grew to 38 luxury department stores around the nation. It’s parent company, the luxury fashion start-up Le Tote, who bought the stores last year, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Lord & Taylor had closed all its locations in March as the coronavirus swept across the country, making safely operating the stores an impossibility. While initially planning to reopen the stores, the chain began liquidation sales at several location, foretelling the bankruptcy announcement.