A year after rumors surfaced that HBC was looking into selling Lord & Taylor, the company made it official, saying last week that a sale is among the strategic options it’s now pursuing for its small, struggling department store banner.
It’s easy to find the rationale: Comps at DSG, (the HBC business that comprises Lord & Taylor plus the Canadian Hudson’s Bay department store chain and now-shuttered Home Outfitters) fell 5.2%, in the company’s most recent quarter. Specifically, Lord & Taylor sales continued to decline year-over-year, the company also said last month. The $850 million that HBC garnered through its sale of Lord & Taylor’s Italianate Fifth Avenue flagship to coworking company WeWork demonstrates how the business’s real estate may be its most compelling asset. The banner has a fleet of 45 stores, mostly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.
