Lord + Taylor president says Connecticut stores are here to stay
STAMFORD — Lord + Taylor has operated its department store at 110 High Ridge Road for some 50 years. It wants customers to know about its longevity.
In a trying year that has seen L+T close its flagship store in Manhattan and four others, the Stamford property and its establishments at the Danbury Fair and Westfield Trumbull malls have brighter long-term prospects. L+T President Vanessa LeFebvre has pinpointed those locations’ long-standing presence as key to customer relationships, as the business also focuses on growing its digital services.
“As we think about how we go forward in building that more sustainable future, we actually want to build off that heritage,” LeFebvre said in an interview last week at the Stamford store. “We’re known for this quality and great value. We’re known as a destination for those special moments in your life. And that’s a pretty incredible history we want to build on.”
On Jan. 2, Lord + Taylor closed the flagship store on Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, ending a 104-year run for the midtown establishment. The property was sold for $850 million last month to co-working powerhouse WeWork and partner Rhone Capital.
“Making that kind of decision was challenging, but the reason that we did it was based on building a more financially solid foundation,” LeFebvre said. “Ultimately, it gives you the freedom to focus on the suburban stores.”
While it has shrunk the number of its locations to 45, L+T continues to upgrade its stores. In late 2016, it completed a nearly two-year renovation of the 157,000square-foot Stamford location.
The women’s shoe department was expanded by more than 3,500 square feet, to nearly 13,000 square feet. The jewelry department has doubled to 4,500 square feet. And the dress department nearly doubled, to almost 8,000 square feet.
“At this point, we believe that Stamford represents, quite frankly, the bread and butter of who Lord + Taylor is,” LeFebvre said. “A freestanding store is where we can have a more intimate relationship with our customers.”
LeFebvre was appointed president of L+T last year, rejoining the company where she spent the first 10 years of her career, as a buyer and merchandise manager. Before returning, she worked at online retailer Stitch Fix, where she oversaw strategy and merchandising direction for its women’s business.
A Southbury native and Irvington, N.Y. resident, she grew up shopping at the Stamford store with her grandmother. It was also where LeFebvre’s mother bought her wedding dress.
“What I like to think about L+T is it being a store of generations,” LeFebvre said. “We build our future on that generational component of we’re that trusted brand of your parents and grandparents.”
To bolster its customer relations, L+T is soliciting more feedback. She visited the Stamford store last week for a roundtable event in which she heard input from local clients.
“I think we’ve been really focused potentially on the wrong things in the past few years, by trying to chase a customer that we might not have had,” LeFebvre said. “There’ve been all these millennial strategies, versus really focusing on who are the customers we have and where are they in their journey.”