Emailed on August 30th, 2019 in The Friday Forward

Le Tote, a San Francisco-based clothing rental subscription company, agreed to buy the operations of Lord & Taylor from Hudson’s Bay Co. for around $100 million (including $75m in upfront cash).

The deal does not include Lord & Taylor’s underlying real estate.

You often see startups disrupting the landscape of old incumbents, you rarely see a startup acquire them.  Le Tote is betting that it can revive the iconic brand by adding its tech layer to the brick-and-mortar customers, while also boosting its own brand inventory.

Le Tote is 7 years old. Lord & Taylor is 193 years old. 

Le Tote has raised around $52 million in VC funding from firms like Azure Capital Partners, Arsenal Growth, Korea Investment Partners, and Sway Ventures. It will take over operations at 38 stores, which cover 4.5 million square feet.

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