The US retail group Saks Global is officially bankrupt. The luxury goods retailer has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The company, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, said its stores will remain open for the time being. The bankruptcy filing is intended to facilitate an ongoing transformation program as part of which Saks Global will review its operational presence.
A financing package worth $1.75 billion (1.61 billion euros) was also completed. This is intended to secure ongoing business and restructuring measures. Part of this will be available once the company exits bankruptcy proceedings, which is expected later this year.
According to court documents, the group’s retail subsidiary, Saks Fifth Avenue, reported assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. The application gives the luxury retailer time to work out a debt restructuring plan with creditors or find a new owner to avoid liquidation.
Former Neiman Marcus Group CEO takes the reins
To oversee the process, Saks Global has fundamentally restructured its leadership team. The former boss of the Neiman Marcus Group, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, has taken over the position of CEO from Richard Baker, who moved to the top of the trading group just a few days ago. Van Raemdonck immediately appointed Darcy Penick as president and chief commercial officer and Lana Todorovich as head of global brand partnerships.
In a statement, van Raemdonck stressed that he sees “great opportunities” on the path ahead. “Together with the newly appointed managers and our colleagues, we will manage this process together,” he explained. “We will remain focused on serving our customers and luxury brands. I look forward to continuing to transform the company as CEO. Saks Global will continue to play a central role in the evolution of luxury retail.”
Saks’ bankruptcy came just a year after it acquired Neiman Marcus Group. The merger formed a retail group that was originally intended to create an “unprecedented, multi-brand luxury portfolio with enormous growth potential,” Baker said at the time.
However, the following year proved difficult. Saks struggled with high debt and lower-than-expected sales as the business environment was weighed down by restrained consumer spending.
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was initially seen as a “last resort” for the retailer, which attempted to turn around the business through widespread store closures, mass layoffs and financing commitments.
This article was created using digital tools translated.
FashionUnited uses artificial intelligence to speed up the translation of articles and improve the end result. They help us to make FashionUnited’s international reporting quickly and comprehensively accessible to a German-speaking readership. Articles translated using AI-based tools are proofread and carefully edited by our editors before they are published. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected]