Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York, New York, is the oldest upscale-luxury, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern United States, the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods (later renamed Associated Dry Goods Corp.). Today, the chain is the sole surviving department store nameplate from Associated, as well as from May Department Stores. Lord & Taylor is wholly owned and operated by NRDC Equity Partners, LLC. NRDC bought the chain from Federated Department Stores in October 2006 as Federated sought to concentrate on the Macy's chain after their purchase of May Department Stores (with all other former May department store nameplates having been converted to Macy's), and because the Lord & Taylor brand conflicted with Federator's Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands.
 

Following its acquisition of Lord & Taylor, NRDC Equity Partners has since added Hudson's Bay Company in Canada and the Fortunoff chain in the New York metropolitan area (Fortunoff closed in spring 2009). In 2008, NRDC's portfolio of retail companies, together with the firm's private label brand developer Creative Design Studios, became components of a new multinational limited partnership, Hudson's Bay Trading Company, L.P.

Lord & Taylor consists of 46 stores and lordandtaylor.com.

Origins

Samuel Lord and George Washington Taylor founded the company in 1826; it was the first major store on Fifth Avenue. Among other firsts, it was the first store to present innovative Christmas windows filled with holiday displays rather than merchandise, and the first to open a branch store (1941 in Manhasset). Lord & Taylor is also known for playing the national anthem before the start of each business day.

In 1916 Lord & Taylor became a founding member of the American Dry Goods Co., soon after renamed Associated Dry Goods Corp. It was a long-time fashion leader and considered the “crown jewel” of Associated; when the May Company acquired ADG in 1986, it was assumed that May bought ADG just for the upscale Lord & Taylor division.

Lord & Taylor opened its Starrett & van Vleck designed flagship store and headquarters on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th streets on February 24, 1914. In December 2007, it was named a New York City landmark

Dorothy Shaver

In 1946, Lord & Taylor became the first major store on Fifth Avenue to name a woman, Dorothy Shaver, as president.

Shaver's association with Lord & Taylor began in 1921 when then-President Samuel Rey burn encouraged her to promote and market "Five Little Shavers," a family of dolls created by her sister, Elsie. Dorothy Shaver's challenges grew when she officially joined Lord & Taylor in 1924 as head of the Comparative Shopping Bureau. It didn't take long for Shaver to re-channel the department's focus from the competition to Lord & Taylor's own customers, putting them first by providing one on one help as they made their selections. With that, the concept of the Personal Shopper was born, flourishing today at Lord & Taylor as Red Rose Personal Shopping Service. During her first few months with the store, she submitted an entirely unsolicited report to the president, analyzing what was wrong with the company and how to correct it.

Shaver was given more responsibility, sales increased and, in 1927, her innovations earned her membership on Lord & Taylor's Board of Directors. In 1931, she was appointed Vice President, and became First Vice President in 1937. In 1941 Ms. Shaver, working with the well-known design firm of Raymond Loewy Associates, opened in Manhasset what is credited as the first true branch store in America. Unlike earlier forays into the suburbs that consisted of smaller boutique-style shops, this was a merchandising effort that became the model for modern suburban shopping. The store consisted of 66 individual shops. Lord & Taylor's relationship with Raymond Loewy Associates continued until 1969, following the construction of the Stamford, Connecticut store (designed by Loewy Vice President Andrew Geller). Shaver was elected president in 1945, the first woman to head a major retail establishment in the United States.

Many of the Lord & Taylor's special services were introduced while Shaver presided, and it was during this period that she introduced both the distinctive hand written logo (The Signature of American Style), and the American Beauty Rose as a symbol of the store. In 1953, Lord & Taylor presented an award for independent thinking, which Albert Einstein won for his "nonconformity" in scientific matters. In the late 50's and early 60's the innovation of having female, uniformed elevator operators with red heads operating on one side and brunettes operating on the other were the talk of the town. As a perk and to maintain their impeccable appearance, the operator's would have their makeup and hair done at the upscale Lord & Taylor salon each day before starting. Shaver's era ended officially upon her death in 1959, but her legacy and innovative retailing concepts continue at Lord & Taylor to this day.

Jane Elfers served as Lord & Taylor's second female CEO since June, 2000, and is largely the architect of its turnaround strategy. She has been replaced, due to the restructuring of the brand in October, 2008 by former Neiman Marcus executive, Brendan Hoffman. According to Richard Baker, her contract had expired.