By AP/KWMU

St. Louis, MO – St. Louis-based May Department Stores announced plans Wednesday to close 32 Lord & Taylor stores in 15 states.

The company says the closings are part of a strategy to reposition Lord and Taylor as an upscale fashion retailer. No Missouri stores will close, but 3,700 employees will lose their jobs.

Following the closings, Lord & Taylor will operate 54 stores in eleven states and the District of Columbia.

May also plans to close a Famous-Barr store in Des Moines, Iowa, and a Jones Store in Omaha, Neb.

May operates 446 department stores under several names. It also operates David's Bridal, After Hours Formalwear and Priscilla of Boston stores as part of its bridal division.

The Lord & Taylor closings will include seven stores in Florida; five in Texas; three each in Denver and Atlanta; two each in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island; and one each in Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.

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