NRDC Equity Partners LLC (Purchase, N.Y.) announced a group of creative partnerships to reposition Lord & Taylor, the New York-based department store chain it acquired last year.
§ Randall Ridless, an independent creative consultant and formerly vp, store planning and interior design, for Saks Fifth Avenue (New York), will orchestrate the redesign of the stores' interiors. He has designed Burberry's stores worldwide and has also worked with Bergdorf Goodman, Holt Renfrew and Van Cleef & Arpels, among others.
§ Mancini Duffy, the New York-based architecture and design firm that has worked with Calvin Klein, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bliss and W Hotels, will help execute the Lord & Taylor redesign.
§ David Lipman, who has been instrumental in the rebranding strategy for a number of fashion brands such as Burberry, David Yurman and Zegna, has been named a creative consultant.
§ And the BrandBuzz division of Y&R (New York) will develop the brand strategy.
"These prestigious and celebrated creative teams represent some of the most innovative minds in the creative design and marketing communities today,” said Lord & Taylor president and ceo Jane Elfers. “Bringing these teams on board is the first of many steps we plan to take in order to continue to energize and refine Lord & Taylor."
"I have always admired Lord & Taylor's stature as one of the original American specialty retailers,” said Ridless, “and am honored to have been selected to help transform the stores in a manner that reflects and respects its history."
“We are fortunate to be in an ensemble that will at last take Jane Elfer’s vision and restore the style of Lord & Taylor,” said Ed Calabrese, creative director of the Mancini Duffy retail group. “The adrenalin of every New Yorker who recalls when the store was a jewel in merchandise, service and presentation should be in a rush.”
Lord & Taylor, founded in 1826, is the oldest American specialty retailer in the United States, operating 47 stores in 9 states and the District of Columbia, with a legendary flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. NRDC, a joint venture between principals of National Realty & Development Corp and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, also owns Linens ‘N Things (Clifton, N.J.). It acquired Lord & Taylor in 2006 from Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati) for $1.1 billion.
"[We are] moving swiftly to meet the challenging and exciting goals we have set for Lord & Taylor,” said NRDC president and ceo Richard Baker. “Lord & Taylor, America's oldest department store and a New York institution, is poised for an extraordinarily bright future. In the coming months, more exciting plans will be unveiled that will continue to elevate this legendary brand."