Word: stores
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Mario Testino that features Lauren Hutton, Carolyn Murphy and the sons of John McEnroe and Clint Eastwood. He's plunking down $250 million to update Lord & Taylor locations around the country and $100 million to renovate the 680,000 sq. ft. (about 63,000 sq m) Fifth Avenue flagship store, which hasn't been touched since the 1970s. In addition to redoing the entire store inside and out and opening a specialty eatery by Drew Nieporent (the restaurateur who operates Nobu and Tribeca Grill), Baker will shrink the store to a more manageable size and rent out the remaining space...
...golden jewel in May's portfolio, but [the owners] didn't focus on it," says Christine Chen, a retail analyst at Needham and Co. Upscale vendors began to bow out. "When I took over [as CEO] in 2000, there was no difference between us and May Co. stores [Macy's and Filene's] at the other end of the mall," says Elfers, who has worked at the store for 18 years...
Elfers started down the long road of repositioning the brand four years ago. A typical department store with 250,000 sq. ft. (about 23,000 sq m) can leverage its large size to get deep discounts on volume purchases. Lord & Taylor's petite 120,000 sq. ft. (11,000 sq m, aside from its New York store) made it tough to compete on promotions, price or depth of merchandise. So Elfers went smaller. In 2003 she closed 32 underperforming stores and then six more before the company's 2006 sale, placing the brand in higher-end markets. The profitable East...
...drives retail is getting back control of the brand, which is what they've tried to do," says Chen. "The Starbucks theory [of always expanding] doesn't work for fashion." Since 2003 Lord & Taylor has replaced 85% of its merchandise and reduced its style count 45%. The current 47-store chain is more akin to a specialty store: manageable, edited and easier to shop. "I think there will be a rallying cry for regional nameplates that bring charm and the service people are looking for," says Elfers. The plan is showing results. In 2006 the chain's sales and earnings...
Despite the progress, not everyone has as much faith in the department store's future as Elfers and Baker do. "Lord & Taylor is a problem child, a tarnished brand, and has a long way to go," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a national retail-consulting firm. "I am not sure, in the current competitive climate, that Lord & Taylor can stand on its own two feet and be a survivor." Davidowitz points to the fact that Baker paid top dollar for a minnow in a sea of powerful retail companies. The store is loaded with debt while seeking...