Saks Files for Bankruptcy as Department Stores Fight for Survival

Business|Saks Files for Bankruptcy as Department Stores Fight for Survival

Saks Global, the company that owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, filed for bankruptcy protection late Tuesday, crumbling under billions of dollars in debt, a fraying relationship with vendors and lagging sales.

The filing is the latest sign that America’s luxury department stores, once landmarks that served as immersive fantasy worlds for the wealthy and aspirational, are becoming an endangered species.

Geoffroy van Raemdonck, the former Neiman Marcus chief executive, will return as Saks Global’s C.E.O. He succeeds Richard Baker, the chief executive and executive chairman, who in 2024 orchestrated a $2.7 billion merger of Saks and the Neiman Marcus Group, which owned Bergdorf Goodman.

Saks and Neiman had spent the past several years trying to find creative ways to subsist despite mounting competition from e-commerce and the luxury brands themselves. Mr. Baker, a former real estate executive, in 2024 orchestrated a $2.7 billion merger of Saks and Neiman Marcus Group, which owned Bergdorf Goodman.

The deal was an attempt to revitalize three of the former beacons of high-end shopping in the United States, some of the only department stores that remained after the closures of Barneys New York, Lord & Taylor, Henri Bendel and Bonwit Teller. (Saks licensed the Barneys name in 2019 when that store was liquidated, creating a “Barneys at Saks” section).

By combining Saks and Neiman, Mr. Baker aimed to realize his grand vision of creating the ultimate luxury department store group, one that would be unrivaled in reach and power. “It was Richard Baker’s dream,” said Marigay McKee, a general partner at Fernbrook Capital and a former president of Saks under Mr. Baker. The idea was, “if I buy Neiman Marcus, and I have Saks, then we get leverage and buying power for exclusives, brands.”