L&T’S FINAL SALE
Deep discounts lure loyal patrons
This isn’t your mom’s Lord & Taylor. But it sure looks like a good deal.
Bargain hunters are swarming to the upscale department store’s Fifth Avenue flagship during its final days, pouncing on deep-discounted shoes, dresses — and even the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
By lunchtime on Tuesday, longtime customer Naomi McLaurin had spent $1,300 on a half-dozen pieces of jewelry, including a $600 amethyst ring, which would have cost upward of $3,600.
“It’s heartbreaking to see this location close,” said McLaurin, who has shopped at the Fifth Avenue store since the 1980s, as she looked for deals on designer clothing.
Lord & Taylor continues to operate 47 stores, mainly along the East Coast. But its historic, 104-year-old flagship is set to close on Jan. 2 after parent company Hudson’s Bay cut an $854 million deal in October 2017 to sell the building to office-space startup WeWork.
A going-out-of-business sale that began Oct. 4 has lately created buzz over its eye-popping deals. A Blondie Nites cocktail dress that had retailed at $249 was selling for $16.99 on Tuesday. Dresses under the nowdefunct Ivanka Trump label, meanwhile, were hanging on a rack advertised at $8.99.
Elsewhere, Ralph Lauren sportswear and Calvin Klein jeans were going for $8.99 a pair, as were summer frocks and tops from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Rafaella.
Still, shoppers moods seemed mixed as they combed through mounds of discounted goods. Belle Scanlon, who came from Westchester County in search of deals, bagged two tops and a dress for $30. But she was equally despondent over the store’s demise.
“This was my ‘it’ store,” Scanlon said.
Even the Victorian chande- liers on the ground floor — all 80 of them — are being sold for about $1,000 a pop, a source said. Twenty of them, which weigh 300 pounds each, have already sold to individuals, the source said.
Less glamorous fixtures like clothing racks, tables and display cases also bore price tags, with some marked as sold.
“It’s been decades since a department store of this quality has gone out of business,” said retail consultant Richard Baum.