Lord & Taylor will take over Fortunoff

Lord & Taylor will take over the Fortunoff retail business of fine jewllery and home furnishings. Fortunoff has agreed to the take over as it faces financial losses, and has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code to help execute the take over. All of Fortunoff's stores and its corporate headquarters will continue operations during the Chapter 11 process.

Lord & Taylor has given a $10 million letter of credit to allow Fortunoff to purchase inventory and some of its lenders have agreed to provide Fortunoff with debtor-in-possession financing to be used to run its business during the bankruptcy process pending the sale.

The sale will take place through a bankruptcy process in which many bidders can participate. Subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court and other customary conditions, the sale will close in early March.

According to Lord & Taylor chairman Richard Baker there is tremendous potential in the “Fortunoff brand for continued growth. He said, “We plan on investing $100 million into the Fortunoff business, with investments being made in both existing and additional stores.”