subsidiary industry retail founded 1826 190 years ago 1826 headquarters new york ny united states number of locations 50 4 l & t outlets 1 products clothing footwear jewelry beauty products fragrances electronics bedding and housewares owner hudson s bay company parent nrdc equity partners subsidiaries find lord & taylor website www.lordandtaylor.com lord & taylor is the oldest luxury department store in the united states 2 headquartered in new york city . it is a subsidiary of the oldest commercial corporation in north america the hudson s bay company . lord & taylor consists of 50 flagship and destination locations four l & t outlets and the lord & taylor website which ships internationally . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 twentieth century 1.1.1 expansion 1.2 twenty first century 1.2.1 contemporary appeal 1.2.2 federated department stores 1.2.3 hudson s bay company 1.2.4 further expansion 2 references 3 external links history edit samuel lord and george washington taylor founded the store in 1826 on catherine street in manhattan selling hosiery misses wear and cashmere shawls . 3 by 1861 the store was located on broadway at grand street 3 and in 1870 moved to a new cast iron building at broadway and 20th street in the area known as the ladies mile . 3 their iconic starrett & van vleck fifth avenue store and headquarters opened between 38th and 39th streets on february 24 1914 . it was the first store on fifth avenue and was also the first store to open a suburban branch in 1941 in manhasset . a founding member of associated dry goods lord & taylor was considered to be their crown jewel . when the may company acquired adg in 1986 it was assumed that may bought them just for their luxury division . the fifth avenue store became a new york city landmark in december 2007 . 4 today lord & taylor has grown to 50 locations across the united states each store has a distinctive contrast of classical and contemporary elements and are designed one of a kind . twentieth century edit in 1945 dorothy shaver became the first woman to head a major retail establishment in the united states as president of lord & taylor . 5 as vice president working with the well known design firm of raymond loewy associates she opened what is credited as the first ever branch store in manhasset new york . unlike earlier forays into the suburbs that consisted of smaller boutique style shops this was a merchandising effort that became the model for modern suburban shopping . the store consisted of 66 individual shops . lord & taylor s relationship with raymond loewy associates continued until 1969 following the construction of the stamford connecticut store designed by loewy vice president andrew geller . lord & taylor boston massachusetts many of lord & taylor s special services including personal shoppers were introduced while shaver presided . during this period she introduced the andrew geller hand written logo and the american beauty rose as icons of the store . in 1953 lord & taylor presented an award for independent thinking which albert einstein won for his nonconformity in scientific matters . shaver s era ended officially upon her death in 1959 but her legacy and innovative retailing concepts continue at lord & taylor to this day . 5 expansion edit william j. lippincott was elected chairman and chief executive in 1972 . his obituary in the new york times read in his years as president and chairman lord & taylor moved beyond its traditional territory in the northeast to open stores in atlanta houston and dallas and four stores in illinois . 6 a management shakeup ousted him in 1976 . under the leadership of ceo joseph e. brooks during the 1970s the company aggressively expanded into texas illinois and michigan ; 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 the upscale hahne & co. wanamaker s and woodward & lothrop chains were converted to lord & taylor . twenty first century edit starting in june 2000 jane elfers served as lord & taylor s second female president . she was replaced in october 2008 by former neiman marcus executive brendan hoffman . according to hbc executive chairman richard baker her contract had expired . 7 a third female president bonnie brooks took over in 2011 and a fourth female president liz rodbell took over in 2013 . contemporary appeal edit in july 2003 lord & taylor s leadership sought to highlight the stores contemporary heritage . a renewed focus has been placed on maintaining a contemporary meets classical identity . new locations feature columns bright white marble floors and modern stainless steel fixtures . many existing locations have undergone full renovations and some have also been expanded . additional changes included the transformation of many lord & taylor signature restaurants into the more posh sarabeth s restaurant . sarabeth s opened inside the fifth avenue store in the fall of 2008 . the fifth floor has a full service sarabeth s restaurant while the sixth floor has a sarabeth s coffee bar . federated department stores edit owner may department stores was acquired by federated department stores now macy s inc on august 30 2005 . on january 12 2006 federated chairman president and ceo terry lundgren announced that lord & taylor would be sold by the end of the year . in a move that took advantage of lord & taylor s valuable real estate federated announced on march 10 2006 that seven conflicting lord & taylor locations would either close or move downscale by converting into macy s christiana mall delaware ; water tower place illinois ; northshore mall massachusetts ; fairlane town center michigan ; west county center and st. louis galleria missouri ; and center city philadelphia pennsylvania . 8 the legendary center city philadelphia store former flagship of the john wanamaker chain opened after a one month renovation as macy s city center on august 1 2006 . on june 22 2006 it was announced that nrdc equity partners llc would purchase lord & taylor for 1.2 billion after federated converted and closed the seven locations that they had previously announced 9 the sale was completed in october 2006 . federated continued to service lord & taylor consumer credit accounts in an agreement with nrdc under the terms of its sale until mid 2007 . in addition to continuing the campaign announced by may in 2003 nrdc committed to spend an additional 250 million upgrading stores . lord & taylor reported a jump in sales after most of may s stores took on the macy s and bloomingdale s nameplates in 2006 . the fifth avenue flagship store received a 150 million update in 2010 . 10 hudson s bay company edit on july 16 2008 nrdc equity partners announced that it had purchased the 338 year old commercial corporation the hudson s bay company for an undisclosed price with the intention of expanding internationally . hbc operates nearly 600 stores under four banners from coast to coast . the hudson s bay store in toronto is the largest store in canada at nearly 1 000 000 square feet 93 000 m2 making it also one of the largest stores in the world . the combined company today consists of hudson s bay and home outfitters in canada galeria kaufhof in germany and luxury banners lord & taylor and saks fifth avenue in the united states . further expansion edit 11 women s wear daily reported in september 2010 that sources within the company were searching for additional space in westchester county . the scarsdale location is a moderately high performer but it does not allow space for significant expansion . 12 in december 2010 lord & taylor announced it would open a second destination store in westchester county at westchester s ridge hill . the ridge hill store was designed by architect giorgio borruso . it opened on april 13 2012 bringing the total number of full line locations to 48 . 11 another store was announced for the boston metropolitan area to be located at the mall at rockingham park . that location opened in march 2012 and brought the total number of full line locations to 47 . in october 2011 a store was announced for mizner park in boca raton florida . 13 the store opened in the fall of 2013 and brought the total number of full line locations to 49 . in august 2013 a new store for new york s capital district was announced to be located at crossgates mall . the store opened in september 2014 and is the 50th full line location . in the summer of 2017 lord & taylor will open its 51st full line location at the american dream meadowlands project in bergen county new jersey . 14 references edit a b lord & taylor expanding . merchandising matters . retrieved october 27 2015 . lord & taylor vs. nordstrom better shopping experience . recomparison.com . retrieved october 27 2015 . a b c burrows edwin g. & wallace mike gotham a history of new york city to 1898 . new york oxford university press 1999 . a landmark department store by francis morrone the sun december 27 2007 . a b http amhistory.si.edu archives wib tour dorothy shaver.pdf obituaries the new york times p. b17 may 7 1992 . kapner suzanne september 26 2008 . shakeup at lord & taylor . cnn . retrieved may 11 2010 . lord & taylor closing at galleria west county malls st. louis business journal march 10 2006 . federated agrees to sell lord & taylor to nrdc equity partners ; transaction expected to close in third quarter of 2006 federated department stores inc. june 22 2006 . 1 store updates 2012 a b forest city nabs lord & taylor for westchester s ridge hill citybizlist new york 2 women s wear daily retrieved on september 22 2010 . covert james october 17 2011 . lord & taylor eyes growth . new york post . laura gurfein . nj megamall confirms tenants from saks to fao schwarz . racked ny . retrieved october 27 2015 . external links edit new york city portal companies portal fashion portal wikimedia commons has media related to lord & taylor . official website hudson bay company official website nrdc equity partners official website setting the precedent four women who excelled in business papers 1947 1956 . schlesinger library radcliffe institute harvard university . v t e hudson s bay company canadian holdings hudson s bay zellers home outfitters u.s. holdings creative design studios lord & taylor saks fifth avenue former holdings north west company 1779 1821 g.w. robinson 1972 1980 shop rite 1972 1982 marshall wells 1976 1985 designer depot 2004 2008 fortunoff 2008 2009 fields 1978 2012 markborough properties to 1996 just kids acquired folded in i. g. baker company 1891 j. f. cairns ltd. 1918 smallman and ingram 1944 federal stores ltd 1952 via zellers freimans 1972 morgan s 1972 simpsons 1991 towers 1991 via zellers woodward s 1993 kmart canada 1998 related topics hudson s bay rewards hudson s bay company archives nrdc equity partners rupert s land saks inc. coordinates 40 45 05 n 73 58 59 w 40.75149 n 73.98307 w 40.75149 ; 73.98307 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title lord % 26 taylor & oldid 744117389 categories department stores of the united statesclothing retailersonline clothing retailersonline retailers of the united statesshops in new york citymidtown manhattancompanies based in new york cityretail companies established in 18261826 establishments in new yorkmacy s inc.hudson s bay companyhidden categories use mdy dates from november 2012pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons