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Le Tote was an online women's clothing rental business in the United States which used a subscription box model.[1] It was founded in 2012 by Brett Northart and Rakesh Tondon.[2][3] In 2019, Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor.[4][5][6]
Le Tote was one of several companies renting women's clothes; competitors included Rent the Runway, The Ms. Collection, Gwynnie Bee, and Armarium.[7] While Rent the Runway focuses more on high-end, "event-driven" clothes, Le Tote mainly rented "everyday wear."[8]
In late August 2019, Le Tote finalized an agreement with Hudson's Bay Company to buy the Lord & Taylor chain for C$99.5 million in cash on closing plus C$33.2 million two years later. HBC was to get a 25% equity stake in Le Tote.[9] The buyer would retain the stores' inventory, with an estimated value of C$284.2 million. The deal required HBC to pay the stores' rent for at least three years, at an estimated C$77 million cash per year.[10][11][12]
On August 2, 2020, Le Tote and subsidiary of Le Tote, Lord & Taylor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing the COVID-19 pandemic. They were purchased by the investment firm Saadia Group on October 20, 2020. [13]
Also in 2020, Le Tote sued Urban Outfitters over its clothing rental service, Nuuly. The lawsuit claimed that during negotiations for a proposed acquisition of Le Tote in 2019, Urban Outfitters received confidential business information from Le Tote, and used it in developing Nuuly. A trial in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania resulted in a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Urban Outfitters.[14]
As of March 1, 2024, Women's Wear Daily reported that the Saadia Group had been "effectively shut down. Moreover, legal proceedings involving its asset-based lender mean Saadia no longer has control of the inventory at its warehouses following a default on a $45.3 million loan agreement."[15]
The Le Tote website was taken offline in the spring of 2024, following months of consumer complaints about delayed shipments and difficulty cancelling the service.[16] The final Archive.org snapshot is dated February 19, 2024.[17]
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