What: Regal Brands Global acquires Lord & Taylor's IP assets, planning a digital-first revival with wholesale partnerships and category expansion for early 2025 launch.

Why it is important: This strategic revival demonstrates how historic retail brands can be successfully modernised through digital transformation and selective partnerships, offering a potential blueprint for other struggling department store brands.

Lord & Taylor, one of America's oldest retail institutions, is embarking on a new chapter under the ownership of Regal Brands Global, which acquired the brand's intellectual property assets in September 2024. Spearheading this transformation is Sina Yenel, RBG's chief brand strategy officer, who envisions a two-pronged approach focusing on retail and product development. The strategy includes launching a revamped e-commerce platform in early 2025, with a possible soft launch by year-end 2024. The company has already secured partnerships for sleepwear products under the Lord & Taylor heritage logo and is in discussions with manufacturers across various categories including furniture, special occasion dresses, and sportswear. To support this digital-first approach, RBG has hired 70 professionals to manage website development, marketing, social media, and branding. While physical retail remains a future possibility, the immediate focus is on establishing a strong online presence with multiple category sections, including luxury, heritage products, and a dedicated Gen Z segment.

IADS Notes: The revival of Lord & Taylor under Regal Brands Global's ownership reflects broader industry transformation trends observed throughout 2024. As seen in March 2024, Lord & Taylor's previous closure highlighted the challenges traditional department stores face , but recent successful revivals, such as Barneys New York's expansion in July 2024 , provide a promising blueprint. The new strategy's emphasis on digital-first operations aligns with industry insights from May 2024, showing how department stores are rebuilding for a new retail world . The approach to leverage Lord & Taylor's heritage while modernising its offerings mirrors successful European models, as demonstrated by Harrods' recent transformation . The planned category expansion across sleepwear, furniture, and special occasion dresses follows the pattern of successful department store revivals, similar to Bloomingdale's strategic category diversification reported in October 2024 .

Lord & Taylor’s new owner readies for online rebirth