Lord & Taylor, one of the nation�s oldest department stores, is being sold for $100 million to a rental clothing company.

Le Tote Inc. is buying the company from Hudson�s Bay Co., which gets a minority stake in Le Tote and will control two seats on its board.

Lord & Taylor, founded as a dry goods store in 1826, has struggled recently as more people shop online. It has closed several stores, including its flagship on New York�s Fifth Avenue, which was shut its doors for good earlier this year after more than a century in the 11-story building. There are currently 38 Lord & Taylor stores across the country.

Under the agreement Hudson�s Bay and a subsidiary will own the stores and Le Tote will operate from them.

Le Tote, created less than a decade ago in San Francisco, said Wednesday that it plans to bring clothing rental to Lord & Taylor�s customers. With clothing rental, popularized by Rent the Runway and other startups, customers pay a monthly fee to get clothes shipped to them, wear a few times and then ship them back. Traditional retailers, such as Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic, are launching their own versions.

Le Tote will pay Hudson�s Bay $75 million in cash (or 99.5 million Canadian dollars) when the deal closes, which is expected to happen before the holiday season. It will also pay Hudson�s Bay $25 million in cash (or 33.2 million Canadian dollars) after two years.

Hudson�s Bay, based in Canada, also owns Saks Fifth Avenue.

(AP)