Bankrupt Lord & Taylor Announces Layoffs At Maryland Stores
MARYLAND — As its bankruptcy unfolds, clothing retailer Lord + Taylor has announced it will be laying off 69 employees at its soon-to-close two stores in Maryland, the department-store chain told state officials last week.
Lord & Taylor LLC and its parent company, Le Tote Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August.
The Maryland Department of Labor received notice of the pending cuts last week, which are split between 40 jobs at its White Flint Mall store in Kensington and 29 jobs at The Mall in Columbia.
The layoffs are scheduled to occur on Dec. 1.
The company cited increasing competition from online retailers as well as the "devastating impact" of the coronavirus for its decision to seek bankruptcy protection.
The White Flint store closing process had already begun with a closing sale that began Aug. 2. The location on Rockville Pike was all that remained of the White Flint shopping mall — which was slated for demolition and redevelopment as a town center. It was the subject of a lengthy legal battle between the owners of the White Flint Mall, Lerner Enterprises, and the upscale department store chain.
Even before boutiques and malls were shutdown by the coronavirus outbreak, traditional brick-and-mortar establishments saw a nosedive in revenue and popularity with the emergence of e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Walmart.
In July, the parent company of clothing retailers including Justice, Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Catherine's and Cacique filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Ascena Retail Group announced plans to close about half its 2,800 stores, including 76 Ann Taylor, LOFT and Lou & Grey stores, more than 600 Justice stores and all Catherine's plus-size clothing store locations. All locations outside the U.S. will also close.
Ten Justice stores in Maryland and all four Catherine's stores are slated for closure.
Other chains that are closing some or all of their Maryland stores include Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, Kmart, Motherhood Maternity, Dressbarn and more.
Pier 1 closed half of its stores to "better align its business with the current operating environment." Nine Maryland stores, including shops in Nottingham, Rockville and Gambrills, were removed from the chain's website. The company confirmed on social media the stores removed from the website were slated for closure. Patch has posted the full list of the Maryland Pier 1 stores expected to close.
Macy's in February said it would close at least one of its 16 stores in the state.
A record 9,300-plus store closings were announced in 2019, and that number could be even higher in 2020, according to a report by Business Insider.
Related:
This article originally appeared on the Columbia Patch
