The company that owns the iconic luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue filed for bankruptcy late Tuesday.
The move comes after Saks Global struggled with debt incurred from acquiring rival Neiman Marcus, declining department store sales, and a growing online market.
It’s one of the largest retail collapses since the Covid-19 pandemic, and raises questions about the future of luxury fashion.
The retailer, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman, said wednesday its stores woudl remain open for now after finalizing a $1.75 billion financing package and appointing a new CEO.
The court process is intended to allow the luxury retailer to negotiate a debt restructuring with creditors or find a new owner to avoid liquidation.
Former Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck will replace Richard Baker, who led the acquisition strategy that left saks Global burdened with debt.
the company also appointed former Neiman Marcus executives Darcy Penick and Lana Todorovich as chief commercial officer and chief of global brand partnerships at Saks Global, respectively.
Saks Fifth Avenue, the retail arm of Saks Global, listed $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Texas.
A retailer long favored by the wealthy, from Gary Cooper to Grace Kelly, Saks faced challenges after the pandemic as online competition increased and brands increasingly sold items through their own stores.
The original Saks Fifth Avenue store, known for featuring brands like Chanel, Cucinelli and Burberry, was founded by retail pioneer Andrew Saks in 1867.
The new financing deal provides an immediate cash infusion of $1 billion through a loan from an investor group, Saks Global said.
A number of luxury brands were among the unsecured creditors, led by Chanel and Gucci owner Kering at about $136 million and $60 million respectively, the court filing said. The world’s largest luxury conglomerate, LVMH, was listed as an unsecured creditor at $26 million. In total, Saks global estimated there were between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors.
In 2024, Baker oversaw the takeover of Neiman Marcus by Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Co, which had owned Saks since 2013, and later created Saks Global by spinning off the U.S. luxury assets, bringing together three names that have defined American high fashion for over a century.
The deal aimed to create a luxury powerhouse, but it saddled Saks Global with debt at a time when global luxury sales were slowing, complicating an already difficult turnaround for CEO and veteran executive Marc Metrick.
Saks Global struggled last year to pay vendors, who began withholding inventory, disrupting the company’s supply chain and leaving it with insufficient stock.
the limited stock may have driven shoppers to competitors like Bloomingdale’s, which posted strong sales in 2025, adding to the pressure on Saks Global.
“Rich people are still buying,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said last month, “just not so much at Saks.”
Facing a cash shortage, Saks Global last month sold the real estate of the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills flagship store for an undisclosed amount. It had also been seeking to sell a minority stake in Bergdorf Goodman to reduce debt.
On December 30, it failed to make an interest payment of more than $100 million to bondholders.
