The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue is seeking bankruptcy protection, beset by increasing competition and the massive debt he took on to buy his luxury rival, Neiman Marcus, just over a year ago.
Saks Global has secured about $1.75 billion in financing, the New York company said as it filed for bankruptcy Wednesday in the Southern District of Texas.
The privately held company said its stores will remain open while it restructures corporate debt, meaning it will honor the programs it has for customers. Suppliers and employees will be paid, Saks said.
“This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead provides a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, who took over from CEO and Executive Chairman Richard Baker this week. Baker had taken over after the company’s CEO, Marc Metrick, resigned earlier this month.
When Saks said that would buy Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion in the summer of 2024, the goal was to create a powerhouse in a luxury sector that had become more fragmented. Online sellers acquired customers and major brands began selling goods from their own stores.
But the partnership with Nieman Marcus only worsened Saks’ debt situation as sales of luxury goods weakened.
Worldwide sales of luxury goods According to a study by Bain & Co. consultancy released in November.
Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s oldest company, was founded to liquidate all but six stores in March 2025.
The luxury department store landscape has been volatile in recent years.
Neiman Marcus received about four months of bankruptcy protection in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic spread. The privately held department store chain was forced to close its stores for several months during the pandemic, as were other competitors such as Gentleman & Taylor.
Gentleman & Taylor sought bankruptcy protection in August of that year and subsequently said it would close all of its stores and operate only as an online retailer.
The century-old Nordstrom department store agreed to be held privately by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group that closed a $6.25 billion deal last year.
Sold at long-suffering Macy’s have started to improve under new CEO Tony Spring, who has closed unprofitable stores and improved service. He’s also trying to attract the same luxury shoppers in power sale at Bloomingdale’s and the luxury beauty store Bluemercury, both of which are owned by Macy’s.
There is concern among suppliers about Saks and how things will move forward.
“They are very nervous, very concerned, very concerned about spring deliveries of goods that they have already produced,” said Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun Corp., which ensures suppliers get paid for products shipped to retailers. “They couldn’t complete deliveries of what they produced in the fourth quarter of (20)25, so they’re stuck with that inventory.”
Wassner said Saks Global accounted for 40% to 50% of some of its customers’ sales. He said he told his customers last month to stop shipping to Saks given the uncertainty.
Saks said it has financing commitments of $1.5 billion from some of its creditors and another $240 million in “incremental liquidity” from its lenders.
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