Lord & Taylor to exit D.C.-area mall

Washington, D.C.

Lord & Taylor will close its store in Landmark Mall, in Alexandria, Va., according to The Washington Post.

The store will close July 12 according to company officials who would not disclose the reason, the Post said.

The mall has been struggling, hurt by the recession and the nearby Potomac Yard big boxes. Mall owner General Growth Properties, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, made a proposal five years ago to tear down the mall and replace it with a town center, but that effort had stalled.

Lord & Taylor is owned by Purchase, N.Y.-based NRDC Equity Partners, which acquired the chain in October 2006 for $1.08 billion from Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores.