Lord & Taylor President Vanessa LeFebvre, who has held the position since May 2018, announced she would be leaving her post via LinkedIn Thursday.
LeFebvre made the announcement one day after Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC), Lord & Taylor’s parent company, reported weak Q1 earnings results. HBC saw total sales in the quarter decline 3.3% to $2.1 billion CAD (approximately $1.57 billion USD).
Comparable sales at the Lord & Taylor banner plummeted a whopping 17.1% in Q1 (sales were excluded from the overall HBC sales numbers) primarily due to the retailer’s reduced physical footprint, with 10 of its 48 stores closing since last year.
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Earlier this month, HBC confirmed it will close two more locations, one at the Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Md., and another at the Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, Mich.
Like other mid-market department store retailers, Lord & Taylor has been forced to confront the evolving retail scene and decreasing mall traffic.
In May, HBC announced that it was reviewing strategic options for Lord & Taylor, including a possible sale, joint venture or merger as part of its plan “to focus on its greatest opportunity.” This was the latest effort by HBC CEO Helena Foulkes to emphasize the company’s more promising banners.
