2020 quickly went off the rails with the coronavirus pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, but it all begin with the untimely death of NBA star Kobe Bryant.

People turned to Amazon and other online stores to get goods delivered to them via the United States Post Office or UPS as the economy struggled to recover from the pandemic’s downturn, which also caused retailers to struggle (some of which are nearly as old as America herself).

One of the oldest department store chains in the nation, Lord & Taylor, is closing its doors after declaring bankruptcy, as the economy has crushed this American business, which was sold to a French company last year, and all of its 38 remaining stores and website have begun liquidation sales.

This represented a change from when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and decided to maintain the fourteen locations at that time.

In August 2020, Lord & Taylor and Le Tote Inc., both submitted bankruptcy petitions to the Virginia Eastern Court.

Lord & Taylor made history as the first department store in the United States, and it continued to innovate for years before being sold to the French clothing company, Le Tote Inc., last year, it was  1824 when  Lord & Taylor opened its doors in Manhattan. It was a dry goods store and the first of its kind.

In a statement, Ed Kremer, Le Tote’s chief restructuring officer said, “While we are still entertaining various opportunities, we believe it is prudent to simultaneously put the remainder of the stores into liquidation to maximize the value of inventory for the estate while pursuing options for the Company’s brands.”

WeWork, a struggling coworking business, bought the structure after Lord & Taylor wanted to make some changes before the coronavirus pandemic struck the world last year, selling their Fifth Avenue store to the French after owning it for more than a century. However, it has since been a new Manhattan office space by Amazon who later bought it.

Everything will be sold; including the fixtures, equipment, and furniture, as Lord & Taylor is currently holding their final sales before closing their doors.

Brooks Brothers, as well as J. Crew, J.C. Penny, Neiman Marcus, Stage Stores, Ann Taylor, and Lane Bryant will also no longer be operating like they once did, as the economic fallout falling the coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to shutter their doors.

Last year, Barneys New York also declared bankruptcy, the long-time rival of Brooks Brothers which was another two-hundred-year-old company that has dressed most United States presidents. The Paper Store, Inc., Sur La Table, Inc., Lucky Brand, LLC, and Ascena Retail Group, Inc., which owns Men’s Warehouse and Jos A. Bank, are among the other notable retailers that have declared bankruptcy.

We will have to wait and see how the American economy recovers now that it has been completely destroyed by the financial crisis, which has destroyed historical businesses that have existed for almost as long as America has.

Sources: Awm, Montco, Blkalerts