Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods (later renamed Associated Dry Goods Corp.). Today, Lord & Taylor is the sole surviving department store nameplate from Associated, as well as from May Department Stores. Lord & Taylor is wholly owned and operated by NRDC Equity Partners. NRDC bought the chain from Federated Department Stores in October 2006 as Federated sought to concentrate on the Macy's chain after their purchase of May Department Stores (with all May department store nameplates having been converted to Macy's), and because the Lord & Taylor brand conflicted with Macy's and especially the Bloomingdale's brand.

Following its acquisition of Lord & Taylor, NRDC Equity Partners has since acquired Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. In 2008, NRDC's portfolio of retail companies became components of a new multinational limited partnership, Hudson's Bay Trading Company, L.P. On 23 January 2012, The Financial Post reported that Richard Baker had dissolved Hudson’s Bay Trading Co., and Hudson's Bay Company would operate both The Bay and Lord & Taylor.