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New Partnership Will Mean Broader Reach for Lord & Taylor, Fashion Cache for Walmart
By Paul Bubny
In another illustration of the transformation reshaping the retail sector, Walmart and Lord & Taylor, two brands that are unlikely to be found in the same brick-and-mortar shopping center, will co-exist on the same website. The two companies said that the rollout of the new Lord & Taylor flagship store on Walmart.com would begin in the coming weeks, the next phase of a partnership first announced last November.
The flagship will debut with more than 125 brands, including Tommy Bahama, Vince Camuto, Miss Selfridge, La La Anthony, Lucky Brand, H Halston and Effy. It will be part of Walmart.com’s broader reach into higher-end merchandise, in keeping with its recent acquisitions of the Bonobos and Modcloth fashion apparel websites.
“As part of the Walmart.com redesign, and our commitment to establish Walmart.com as a destination for fashion, we recently relaunched our new fashion shopping experience,” said Denise Incandela, head of fashion, Walmart U.S. eCommerce. “The new experience is aligned with how customers shop the category, with editorial elements that inspire customers to browse and buy, and has already generated positive customer response.”
The next step, she added, will be the launch of the Lord & Taylor flagship store, “which introduces exciting new premium brands to our customers.”
For Lord & Taylor, “This is a tremendous growth opportunity,” R.J. Cilley, SVP of digital at the upscale department store brand, said on a conference call. “We are growing our footprint to reach exponentially more customers.”
The New York Times reported that Lord & Taylor’s existing e-commerce platform drew 2.2 million visitors in April. That compares to the 101 million visitors to Walmart.com during the same time period.
Lord & Taylor’s partnership with Walmart comes on the heels of another collaboration that would have seemed unlikely at one time. Last October it sold its flagship New York store to WeWork, which will use the property for its new headquarters, while also leasing retail space within select brick-and-mortar stores owned by HBC, Lord & Taylor’s parent company.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
