You can still shop till you drop — sort of.
The luxury department store conglomerate Saks Global — the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue — has reversed a decision to shutter at least three stores this month, according to a report in CoStar. However, others will still close up shop to cut costs and restructure.
Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January after racking up more than $4 billion in debt, barely a year after expanding its property footprint with the acquisition of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. The news sent shockwaves through the luxury retail realm, leading many to wonder how many locations would shut down as a result.
Now, “following recent productive conversations with our landlords and further evaluation,” locations in three states will remain open for business. A Neiman Marcus in Westchester County, New York is among them — as well as two Saks Fifth Avenues. One is in Sarasota, Florida, and the another is across the nation in Palm Desert, California.
The three locations share a landlord in common: Simon Property Group — the largest retail real estate company on Earth. Its CEO, David Simon, died last Sunday at the age of 64 following a cancer battle.
Saks Global has not yet emerged from bankruptcy, but it secured $1.75 billion in a debtor-in-possession financing deal. Still, despite that progress, other stores will close this year. At least eight Saks Fifth Avenues and one Neiman Marcus, a location that stands in Boston, are poised to shut in April. As for the former, those stores are located across the nation, from Arizona to New Jersey. The majority of Saks OFF Fifth stores will close by year’s end, leading to liquidation sales of up to 70% off.
“Our approach to optimizing our store footprint remains centered in ensuring we focus our presence in markets with a high concentration of luxury shoppers where we can operate at an attractive level of profitability,” Saks told CoStar. “We look forward to continuing to serve customers in these markets.”
