Lord & Taylor Closing DC, VA Stores In Nationwide Shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC — Lord & Taylor is closing all of its remaining stores, including a Washington, D.C., location and the last northern Virginia site, as the retailer gears up for a series of going-out-of-business sales.

Lord & Taylor LLC and its parent company Le Tote Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a toll on bricks-and-mortar retailers.

"While we're still entertaining various opportunities, we believe it is prudent to simultaneously put the remainder of the stores into liquidation to maximize value of inventory for the estate while pursuing options for the company's brands," said the company's chief restructuring officer, Ed Kremer.

For now, that means going-out-of-business sales, which kicked off at most stores on Thursday.

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.

Lord & Taylor said in November it would close two stores in Northern Virginia, its Tysons Corner Center store and its Dulles Town Center store in Sterling, the Washington Business Journal reported. The Lord & Taylor store at Tysons laid off 117 employees, effective Jan. 31. The store at Dulles Town Center laid off 79 employees when it closed Christmas Eve, according to the report.

Lord & Taylor has these remaining DC and Virginia locations:

• Washington/Chevy Chase: 5255 Western Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC
• Fair Oaks Mall: 11900-L Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax, VA

Other chains that are closing some of their Virginia stores include the Gap, Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, Kmart, Motherhood Maternity, Dressbarn and more.

The parent company of clothing retailers including Justice, Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Catherine's, Lou & Grey and Cacique filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2020. 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.

In Virginia, 17 Justice stores will reportedly close. The "tween" clothing store, which caters to girls ages 6 to 12, has more than 800 stores across the country. Nine Catherine's stores in Virginia will all close, and LOFT Outlet will close in Potomac Mills Mall, 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, according to Business Insider.

Two Gap clothing stores in Virginia closed in January 2020. The store closure was part of a plan announced in February 2019 to close 230 stores across the country.

Papyrus, a stationery retailer, closed all of its stores across the country in 2020, according to Fortune. The chain operates three Washington, D.C., stores and six Virginia stores, including shops in McLean, Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax.

In January, Pier 1 said it would likely close half of its stores to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

A dozen Virginia stores, including one each in Manassas, Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria, 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 12 Pier 1 stores expected to close.

In November, craft supply store A.C. Moore announced it was closing all of its stores. The arts and crafts supplier operates at least 15 stores in Virginia. Under the transition, as many as 40 A.C. Moore stores will become Michaels. The locations to become Michaels have not yet been named. Read more.

The women's clothing store Avenue is closing more than 200 locations across the country, including three stores in Virginia. Read more.

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:

• VA Store Closings: 17 Justice, 9 Catherine's, 1 LOFT Outlet
• J.C. Penney Bankruptcy Could Affect 22 Virginia Stores: Report
• J.Crew, Which Has 10 Stores In VA And DC, Files For Bankruptcy
• NoVA, DC Store Closings By Chain Retailers In 2019