Oldest US department store chain Lord & Taylor files for bankruptcy

Lord & Taylor, the oldest department store chain in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, joining a growing list of businesses to announce bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The department store filed for Chapter 11 protection in Richmond, Va., Bloomberg reported. 

The department store’s owner, Le Tote Inc., filed for Chapter 11 protection along with Lord & Taylor, according to the report. Le Tote bought the rights to Lord & Taylor last year. 

The company had 38 stores and 651 employees as of the filing and said it had about $137.9 million of debt obligations, according to Bloomberg. 

Lord & Taylor had shut all its stores temporarily in March amid mass shutdowns in the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Lord & Taylor is the latest retailer to file for bankruptcy amid the pandemic, following announcements from J.Crew, Brooks Brothers, and Ascena Retail Group, the company behind Ann Taylor.