Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash
Lord & Taylor, America’s Oldest Department Store, Is Making a Comeback. Here Are the Details
December 16, 2024
Lord & Taylor is making a comeback. The department store, known as “America’s oldest” of its kind, has found a new owner and revitalized its iconic logo. Let’s take a look at what we know about this latest bit of exciting retail news.
Lord & Taylor Returns
According to Retail Dive, Lord & Taylor has been acquired by the Regal Brands Group and has already undertaken the first step of its comeback: re-introducing the iconic logo with its sweeping scripted font. The logo was discontinued in 2022 — and traded out for one with Helvetica font — after the Saadia Group purchased it following its 2020 bankruptcy filing.
The 2022 removal of the iconic logo is “the biggest betrayal of the brand,” said Sina Yenel, chief strategy officer of Regal Brands Global, to the outlet.
“I understand going after young customers, but this is not a startup,” Yenel said via video conference. “This is a brand that’s been out here for 198 years. Lord & Taylor has such a huge profile, among different generations and different cultures.”
In addition to bringing back the iconic logo, Regal Brands’ new 75-person Lord & Taylor retail team is developing a marketing strategy that avoids fast fashion and emphasizes sophisticated design without being overly opulent. Unlike what other publications have said, it won’t be an off-price company. Yenel says the company will not be a marketplace, even though drop-shipping is planned for fulfillment.
Lord & Taylor hasn’t had a physical location in a long time. After filing for bankruptcy, its Manhattan headquarters was sold to WeWork and later Amazon, and the retailer’s mall locations in the suburbs have vanished. However, Lord & Taylor’s intellectual property has undergone significant change over the past few years. Just before the pandemic rocked the fashion rental sector in 2019, the company Le Tote paid $75 million to acquire Lord & Taylor. Saadia Group paid $12 million to acquire Le Tote a year later.
Such intangibles will be more challenging to communicate without physical stores. However, Yenel claims that technological advancements will aid in redesigning the retailer’s online store. Customer service will be headquartered in the United States to facilitate high-touch interactions from a distance. In the long term, though, going back to brick and mortar is part of the plan. According to Yenel, brick-and-mortar prospects like shop-in-shops and pop-ups may also occur sooner because Lord & Taylor is using a licensing approach.
Latest Iconic Brand Return
Lord & Taylor is just the latest iconic brand to make a comeback in the retail market. Earlier this month, Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant, a staple of the 1970s and 1980s, announced it was coming back following its 2004 closure.
When Chi-Chi’s opened its doors in 1975, the desire for Tex-Mex had significantly expanded in America. Fried ice cream and chimichangas were among the restaurant chain’s most well-liked dishes. According to Kiplinger, however, the number of restaurants decreased from 237 to 144 by 2002 due to heightened competition.
A significant hepatitis A outbreak connected to one of the chain’s restaurants in the Pittsburgh area was the main reason Chi-Chi’s closed. Four people died, and about 636 became ill. The company’s reputation suffered as a result of this outbreak, and several of its sites were forced to close.
Max McGee, a former Green Bay Packers player, and Marno McDermott, a restaurateur, started the franchise. The original eatery was situated in Minneapolis’s downtown.
However, Michael McDermott, Marno McDermott’s son, is permitted to use the company’s name for the new restaurant sites — which are scheduled to open in 2025 — because of a recent arrangement with Hormel Foods, which controls the company’s trademarks.
“I still have fond memories of growing up in the Chi-Chi’s restaurants that my father built throughout their time, instilling in me the passion and determination to pursue my own career in the restaurant industry,” said Michael McDermott, founder of Chi-Chi’s Restaurants LLC, the new company formed to revive the chain, in a press release.
Recent News
