Lord & Taylor

Lord & Taylor's 2020 bankruptcy ended America's oldest department store after 194 years. Le Tote, a fashion rental startup, had acquired the chain for $100 million in 2019 - effectively a real estate play disguised as retail acquisition. When COVID emptied stores, Le Tote couldn't service debt. The flagship Fifth Avenue building had already been sold to WeWork in 2017. Lord & Taylor demonstrated retail's endgame: when the real estate becomes more valuable than the business, the business exists only to justify the real estate.