Finlay Announces Non-Renewal of Lord & Taylor Agreements

Following the acquisition of Fortunoff out of bankruptcy by an affiliate of NRDC Equity Partners LLC, which owns the Lord & Taylor department store chain, fine jewelry retailer Finlay enterprises has been informed by Lord & Taylor that its licensing agreements to sell fine jewelry through the department store will not be renewed.

Finlay currently runs licensed fine jewelry departments within the Lord & Taylor department stores. Its licensing agreements will expire January 31, 2009, as 47 Lord & Taylor locations will be closed at the end of fiscal 2008.

Lord & Taylor, according a release from Finlay, has indicated its intent to operate its own jewelry departments through Fortunoff.

In fiscal 2007, the Lord & Taylor locations generated approximately $44 million in revenue for Finlay.

Arthur E. Reiner, chairman and CEO of Finlay Enterprises, Inc. commented, "Given the recent evolving department store landscape, we have focused on the diversification of our business over the last three years by entering into the luxury free-standing specialty jewelry sector. We will continue to focus on further penetrating this sector, while also maximizing the return of our existing lease business."