Hudson’s Bay to sell Lord & Taylor for $100 million to clothing rental service Le Tote

Hudson’s Bay Company is selling Lord & Taylor to clothing rental subscription service Le Tote for $100 million.

The deal allows the department store chain to continue and potentially transform operations as its sales have fallen and it’s lost touch with today’s shoppers. It will also allow Hudson’s Bay, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay in Canada, to further simplify its business, as Executive Chairman Richard Baker looks to take the company private while the retailer grapples with sweeping industry change.

“We’re excited to have reached an agreement with Le Tote that creates a new model for Lord & Taylor, bringing together fashion rental subscriptions with traditional retail,” said Hudson’s Bay CEO Helena Foulkes in a statement. ”…For HBC, this transaction builds upon our previous bold actions, further enabling us to focus on our greatest opportunities, Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay.”

Baker has already begun to unwind the retail empire he built through deals, selling flash sale site Gilt and European department store Galeria Kaufhof. Hudson’s Bay struck a deal with Work Property Advisors and Rhone Capital in 2017 to sell its flagship Lord & Taylor building in New York. It later left the property entirely.

Hudson’s Bay will be paid $99.5 million Canadian dollars ($75 million) in cash after the deal closes and a secured promissory note of CA$33.2 million ($25 million) is payable in cash after two years. Hudson’s Bay will also receive an equity stake in Le Tote, two seats on its board and certain rights as a minority shareholder.

Under the deal, Le Tote will acquire Lord & Taylor’s brand and intellectual property and assume operations of 38 stores, its digital channels and its inventory. In fiscal 2018, Lord & Taylor generated $1.4 billion, or roughly 14% of Hudson’s Bay’s $9.4 billion in retail sales. Hudson’s Bay has a market value of CA$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion).

Le Tote, a rental service founded 2012 that allows subscribers to rent clothes for $79 monthly, has plans to reinvent Lord & Taylor, said its founder, Brett Northart.

“The customers have spoken, and people are looking for smaller, more personalized locations — that’s something we do well at Le Tote,” said Northart.

It will look to build out new smaller-format stores, potentially beyond the the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic where Lord & Taylor is traditionally found. It may also repurpose existing Lord & Taylor stores, where locations no longer make sense for the evolving business.

As part of the deal, Hudson’s Bay will retain ownership of its Lord & Taylor real estate and, starting in 2021, it has the right to reassess and potentially redevelop these locations. For at least the first three years, Hudson’s Bay has agreed to be responsible for the rent payments owed by Lord & Taylor, or about C$77 million ($58 million) annually, net of distributions.

Le Tote plans to personalize and expand Lord & Taylor’s offerings beyond the dresses for which the department store has been historically known. One of those services will be Le Tote’s core business: rental.

Le Tote is still in the process of securing financing for the deal, the companies said. If it is unable to obtain committed financing within 45 days of signing, Hudson’s Bay has the right to terminate the agreement.

Source: cnbc.com