Le Tote is an online women's clothing rental business in the United States which uses a subscription box model. It was founded in 2012 by Brett Northart (now President) and Rakesh Tondon (now CEO). In 2019, Le Tote acquired

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

. Le Tote is one of several companies renting women's clothes; competitors include

Rent the Runway Rent the Runway is an e-commerce platform that allows users to rent, subscribe, or buy designer apparel and accessories. It was founded by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, who launched the company in November 2009. History In 2007, Hyman ...

, The Ms. Collection, Gwynnie Bee, and Armarium. While Rent the Runway focuses more on high-end, "event-driven" clothes, Le Tote mainly rents "everyday wear." In late August 2019, Le Tote finalized an agreement with

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

to buy the

chain for C$99.5 million in cash on closing (probably before year end 2019) plus C$33.2 million two years later. HBC was to get a 25% equity stake in Le Tote. 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. On August 2, 2020, Le Tote and subsidiary of Le Tote,

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. They were purchased by the investment firm Saadia Group on October 20, 2020.

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* {{Authority control American companies established in 2012 Retail companies established in 2012 Internet properties established in 2012 Non-store retailing Companies based in San Francisco Subscription services Clothing rental companies Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020