Lord & Taylor, one of America’s oldest luxury retailers, is currently owned by Walmart. That’s right, the same company that owns budget-friendly stores like Sam’s Club and Asda also owns Lord & Taylor. How did this happen?
Lord & Taylor was founded in 1826 and has been through a number of changes over the years. The retailer was first acquired by Richard Goldman in 1979 and then by May Department Stores Company in 1995. In 2006, Federated Department Stores (now Macy’s) bought out May Company, which included Lord & Taylor.
Just two years later, in 2008, NRDC Equity Partners LLC acquired Lord & Taylor from Federated Department Stores. And finally, in 2012, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) purchased Lord & Taylor from NRDC Equity Partners LLC. HBC is the same company that owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH.
So how did Walmart end up owning Lord & Taylor? In 2018, HBC announced that it would be sellingLord & Taylor to Le Tote for $100 million.
Le Tote is a women’s fashion rental service similar to Rent the Runway. However, the deal fell through and HBC ended up selling Lord & Taylor to Walmart for $75 million instead. Walmart plans to keep Lord & Taylor as a separate brand and operate it as an upscale department store aimed at younger shoppers.
For now, it remains to be seen how successful Walmart will be in operating a luxury retailer like Lord & Taylor. However, given Walmart’s track record of successfully acquiring and operating other companies (such as Jet.com), it’s likely that we’ll see Lord & Taylor stick around for many years to come – even if it is owned by Walmart.
Conclusion: Yes, Lord & Taylor is currently owned by Walmart.
