Saks Shifts Focus to Luxury as Retailer Exits Bankruptcy

Saks Global is reportedly plotting a luxury-focused revival as it emerges from bankruptcy.

The company, owner of department stores Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, has structured its debt, shuttered dozens of stores and cut jobs since seeking bankruptcy protection in January, The New York Times (NYT) reported Friday (June 26).

Saks executives told NYT they are focused on high-end shopping and “white-glove service,” following an era in which the company emphasized discount retail and attempted to use its real estate property as leverage.

With this shift, Saks Global has also changed its corporate name to Exemplar Luxury Group, signaling its new goals and a fresh start for the business, said CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck.

“It’s going to reimagine what the luxury experience is,” he told NYT during an interview at Bergdorf Goodman’s headquarters in Manhattan. “We’re very realistic that you need to walk before you can run, so there’s different phases, but that new day is so long awaited.”

The report noted that the company’s bankruptcy exit keeps three of America’s oldest and most luxurious department stores alive, with Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores all keeping their names and logos.

Saks Global closed its last Neiman Marcus Last Call discount stores and most of its Saks Off 5th locations as it reorganized, NYT added. The company had struggled to convert discount shoppers from those lower-cost outlets to customers willing to pay for higher-end, big-ticket apparel and accessories at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

“Off-price was not a profitable business for the company,” van Raemdonck said. “It’s a business that requires scale, and it’s a different skillset.”

Saks raised billions of dollars in 2024 to fund its turnaround effort, which included buying NMG, the parent company of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. The idea was to launch a “technology-powered luxury retail company” with Amazon among its investors.

However, that deal saddled the company with further debt, as it faced ongoing supplier complaints over late payments, leading many vendors to halt shipments.

The company declared bankruptcy at the beginning of the year, naming van Raemdonck its new CEO. In April, Saks Global announced it had secured $500 million in exit financing from a group of its senior secured bondholders and planned to emerge from Chapter 11 during the summer.