Saks Global on Friday disclosed another major round of store closings, this time including 12 Saks Fifth Avenue locations and three Neiman Marcus locations.
These stores will close by the end of May.
Eight other Saks closings and one Neiman’s closing were announced on Feb. 10. That brings the total number of store closings announced by the parent company since its filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January to 20 Saks Fifth Avenue units and four Neiman Marcus units.
Saks Global previously disclosed that 57 Saks Off 5th stores, the five Last Call clearance centers for Neiman Marcus, and the Horchow catalogue would also shut down.
As the plan stands now, only 13 Saks Fifth Avenue stores will stay in business. However, the Neiman Marcus store fleet will remain largely intact with 32 stores continuing to operate. Bergdorf Goodman also stays intact, continuing to operate its women’s store and men’s store, both on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Decisions to close stores are essentially based on lease terms, performance history, and the outlook on business.
“This strategic optimization is part of our ongoing transformation and rooted in our long-term view of our business,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive officer of Saks Global, in a statement Friday. “Our go-forward store portfolio will comprise the best performing and most desirable locations in markets with the highest concentration of luxury customers, enabling us to deepen loyalty and drive sustainable growth. With a refined footprint, we are creating a stronger platform for our brand partners and an even more compelling customer experience as we focus on investing in the luxury experience, sharpening the differentiation of our coveted banners and fully leveraging our prime owned and other retail locations.”
Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 13, clearing the way for it to get out of leases without penalties, while continuing to operate healthy stores and working under court supervision to restructure debts, renegotiate contracts and develop a viable business plan.
Saks Global left open the possibility of a few further closures beyond what’s been laid out so far. On Friday, it indicated that it has “largely completed the optimization of its footprint, but continues to engage with landlords as it works to make final decisions on its go-forward network of stores.”
Markets that will continue to have both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are: Atlanta; Beverly Hills; Houston; Miami; Boca Raton and Bal Harbour, Fla., and Troy, Mich. Also, in New York City, the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship and Bergdorf Goodman will continue to operate. These markets each have less than a 15 percent customer overlap between both stores, according to Saks Global.
“Across Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Global reaches distinct luxury customers with minimal overlap,” the retailer said. “The company intends to sharpen each banner’s unique expression, enabling it to lead in multiple segments of the luxury retail market over the long-term.”
Aside from indicating that each banner will have unique customer experiences, Saks Global has not said how the banners will get differentiated. Generally, officials have been emphasizing that there will be continued investment in “elevated experiences, activations and curated assortments” and in equipping sellers with tools to strengthen relationships and engagements with customers.
Markets that will have only one go-forward store include Boston, where Neiman Marcus is closing, and in Chicago, Las Vegas and Philadelphia, where the Saks stores are closing. On average, the locations remaining open in these markets consistently drove three to four times more in sales than the sister store in the same market, according to Saks Global.
In markets losing a Saks Global store, customers will still be served through e-commerce and remote selling services. The remaining stores and e-commerce experiences across Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are operating as usual.
Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan Avenue in Chicago is closing.
The company reiterated that it has access to approximately $825 million of the $1.75 billion in committed capital it secured to see it through the process, enabling it to fund new orders. Saks Global has a series of ongoing “strengthening dialogues” with vendor partners and executives have cited a significant acceleration of inventory flow, with shipping resumed by more than 500 brands, releasing close to $1.3 billion in retail receipts. This accounts for more than 80 percent of the inventory Saks Global expects to receive from February through April.
The company has indicated that it has reached or nearly reached agreements with more than 175 brands across all categories, including large maisons and smaller brands. Many vendors stopped shipping to Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus because Saks Global has failed to pay bills for years. While vendors will receive little if any money from unpaid bills, the bankruptcy provides new funding and restores liquidity to restart the flow of seasonal goods. New funding also supports day-to-day operations, and gives hope, but no guarantee, that the company survives long-term.
But the closings of so many Saks Global stores is resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs, as well as a significant reduction in volume, though the intention is to return Saks Global to profitability as weaker stores disappear and the debt gets restructured. Saks Global bought the Neiman Marcus Group for $2.7 billion in December 2024, but the mounting debt, unpaid bills, losses and negative sales trends pushed the business into insolvency. Saks Global volume was listed at approximately $7.3 billion shortly after the Neiman’s acquisition in fiscal 2024.
The company declined to say how much volume will be lost through store closures, but gave this statement: “Going foward we will have fewer stores, but our stores will comprise the best-performing and most desirable locations in markets with a high concentration of luxury customers, enabling us to drive loyalty and profitable, sustainable growth.”
Asked how many employees are impacted by the closings, a Saks spokesperson said, “We are unable to provide a number of impacted employees at this time as we are providing transfer opportunities where available.”
Saks Global Store Closings
The 12 Saks Fifth Avenue closings announced Friday are: Beachwood, Ohio; Chevy Chase, Md.; Michigan Avenue, Chicago; Costa Mesa and Palm Desert, Calif.; Las Vegas; Huntington Station, N.Y.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Antonio, Texas; Sarasota, Fla; Tysons, Va., and St. Louis.
The eight Saks Fifth Avenue closings announced Feb. 10 and expected to all be closed by the end of April are: Birmingham, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; East Rutherford, N.J.; New Orleans; Bala Plaza outside of Philadelphia; Phoenix; Richmond, Va., and Tulsa, Okla.
The Neiman Marcus closings announced on Friday are: Honolulu; Topanga, Calif., and White Plains, N.Y. The Neiman’s closing announced Feb. 10 is in Boston. Another Neiman’s store in Willow Bend, Dallas will close in January 2027, as previously announced, but it’s unrelated to the closings being orchestrated through the Chapter 11 reorganization process.
Saks Global Stores Staying Open
In addition to the two Bergdorf Goodman stores staying open, the Saks Fifth Avenue stores staying open are in Greenwich, Conn.; Atlanta; Bal Harbour, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa and Naples, Fla.; the Brickell and Dadeland units in Miami; Beverly Hills, Calif.; Boston; Houston; New York City, and Troy, Mich.
The Neiman Marcus stores staying open are in Atlanta; Bal Harbour, Boca Raton, Tampa Bay, Coral Gables and Orlando, Fla.; Austin, downtown Dallas, Northpark Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Tex.; Northbrook, Oakbrook and Michigan Avenue in Illinois; Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Diego, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Paramus and Short Hills, N.J.; Garden City, N.Y.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; St. Louis; Troy, Mich.; Tysons, Va.; Las Vegas; Denver, and King of Prussia, Pa.
