Saks Global, the most ambitious department store project is heading for bankruptcy

In December 2024, the closing of the USD 2.65 billion deal took place, which had been greeted with enthusiasm and interest when it was launched the previous summer: Hudson's Bay Company, the parent company of Saks, took over the Neiman Marcus Group, which in turn owned Bergdorf Goodman, creating Saks Global, a group that would bring together the three historic brands of the US luxury department store world. An operation that gave new impetus to an industry, by then very tarnished, that had made the history of shopping in the country, and that also involved Amazon, eager to speed up its long run-up in luxury (passing also, among other things, by generous sponsorships of the Met Gala) by expanding its own high-end offer.

Eighteen months later, that ambitious project risks bankruptcy: Saks could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it fails to pay $100 million in interest to its bondholders within the next few weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal. And just today, Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick resigned, appointing Richard Baker as his successor.

In fact, the signs of this crisis had already been there for some time: last February, the group had informed its suppliers of its intention to pay them no longer at 60, but at 90 days, and that all outstanding payments would be paid in 12 instalments starting in July. 'I understand the payment challenges,' Marc Metrick, CEO of Saks Global, had written in a note. We look forward to seeing the flow of goods return to normal'. In August, then, there had been a refinancing for $600 million, but just on 2 August, the second quarter of the year had closed, with sales down 13 per cent from the same period in 2024, to $1.6 billion, and losses expanding to $288 million.The following month, Saks had even prospected the sale of 49 per cent of Bergdorf Goodman for $1 billion.

In the meantime, in April Saks had opened an Amazon shop, and in October saw the start of a joint venture with Authentic Brands Group - to which brands such as Barneys New York (curiously, what remains of one of the country's most glorious and beloved department stores, closed in 2020), Brooks Brothers, Juicy Couture, Hervé Léger - christened Authentic Luxury Group.

At the moment, however, international shipments from the Saks site are interrupted. Another symptom of a crisis whose fate will be defined within the next few weeks.