ON LORD & TOWER
Luxe retail chain plans ‘millions’ of changes
Talk about dressing up a dowdy old department store.
Lord & Taylor is weighing a plan to build a luxury tower on top of its 103-yearold flagship on Fifth Avenue, The Post has learned — even as it shells out a fortune to remodel and expand a halfdozen stores elsewhere.
The high-flying project could result in a steel-andglass skyscraper that houses offices and residential units, while still preserving the original, 11-story department store and its business, according to sources.
Further details couldn’t immediately be learned, but real estate insiders note that nearby skyscrapers stretch as high as 60 stories or more.
Richard Baker — the savvy New York property tycoon behind the talks — declined to comment.
Nevertheless, insiders said it’s clear that Baker — who scooped up Saks Inc. and its swanky Fifth Avenue flagship in 2013 after acquiring Lord & Taylor in 2006 — isn’t just making shrewd Manhattan bets: He’s doubling down on the troubled department store sector, too.
Last year, Lord & Taylor sunk about $25 million into renovating its Stamford, Conn., store. It’s now pouring $35 million into expanding its location in Manhasset, LI, adding more than 36,000 square feet to its current footprint of 160,000 square feet.
Another four stores are in various stages of upgrade, with construction slated to be completed by fall.
“These updates are creating more fluid spaces, adding brightness to the floors and more excitement for our customers,” Lord & Taylor President Liz Rodbell told The Post during a recent tour of the flagship store.
The landmark location has just completed a $12 million revamp of its fifth floor, creating what the company claims is now the largest dress floor in the world.
Lord & Taylor accounts for just a fraction of the business of its Canada- based parent Hudson’s Bay, which Baker acquired in 2008. With Hudson’s Bay recently in talks to add Neiman Marcus or even Macy’s to his mall-based empire, sources say it’s likely to become a stillsmaller slice of the pie.
Nevertheless, Lord & Taylor’s Scarsdale store is among the most high-volume department stores in the country, raking in nearly $100 million in sales, according to a source with knowledge of the store’s performance. “It’s a misconception that all department stores stink,” said the source.
The heavy spending comes despite rampant skepticism about Baker’s retail aspirations since he first plowed into the sector with his Lord & Taylor acquisition — including from Baker himself.
At the time, Baker had said the L&T flagship was “too large at that location,” and even muttered about the possibility of redeveloping the site. Subsequently, Hudson’s Bay closed 33 L&T stores, leaving the chain with 50 locations.
Sales of women’s dresses at Lord & Taylor, meanwhile, have increased nearly 10 percent over the past couple of years, the company says.
The new “Dress Address” floor on Fifth Avenue is now selling dresses costing as much as $14,000 — 10 times a top price of $1,400 before the renovation.
Nevertheless, there are also dresses selling for less than $100 as Lord & Taylor looks to cater to women who are increasingly comfortable pairing designer shoes and handbags with jeans and T-shirts.