Shoppers walk past the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, New York, the United States, January 6, 2026.
Angelina in Katsani | Reuters
Saks Global, the parent company of the 159-year-old department store that has become both a destination and a symbol of luxury fashion, has filed for bankruptcy protection. after running out of cash and failing to find investors willing to finance its activities.
Importantly, the retailer has filed for Chapter 11, which will give it the opportunity to reorganize its operations, clear its debts and potentially find a buyer willing to take it over as a going concern.
The company announced Wednesday that former Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck would immediately take over as chief executive, replacing Richard Baker, who had been in the role for just two weeks.
Saks also announced it had secured a financial commitment of approximately $1.75 billion in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet.
As recently as last week, Saks was struggling to raise up to $1 billion in financing for a so-called debtor-in-possession loan, which provides the funds needed to keep a business operating during Chapter 11 proceedings, CNBC previously reported. If Saks had not anticipated the DIP loan, it made a Chapter 7 liquidation filing more likely.
A bankruptcy filing for Saks Global was seen as inevitable for weeks after the company missed interest payments to bondholders late last month. What’s still unclear is what will happen to the company and the nearly 200 doors under its umbrella at Saks’ eponymous stores and its off-price chain, as well as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.
Bankruptcy proceedings could lead to a range of potential outcomes. A strategic buyer with deep pockets could step in and buy the entire company, saving it from liquidation. Saks could also liquidate as other parts of its business sell off, such as the smaller Neiman and Bergdorf. Like its former competitor Lord & Taylor, Saks, Neiman and Bergdorf – or a combination of the three – could close all their stores and become online-only companies.
The future of Saks Global will become clearer in the coming weeks as the bankruptcy proceedings unfold and the company continues to seek new investors.
How did Saks collapse?
Despite catering to some of the world’s wealthiest shoppers, Saks is regularly cash-strapped and unable to pay some of its bills after acquiring longtime rival Neiman Marcus in 2024 in a $2.7 billion deal heavily financed by debt.
Yet Saks was struggling to pay its suppliers even before acquiring Neiman. With the acquisition, the company received an influx of new cash expected to reduce the combined company’s debt and provide it with “significant liquidity,” Saks said at the time.
The tie-up brought a new roster of deep-pocketed investors from the tech world, including Amazon and Salesforce, and is expected to create a luxury department store powerhouse with an improved cost structure and stronger negotiating power.
Instead, Saks failed to implement the turnaround that investors were counting on. It briefly improved in paying its suppliers, but then moved to a 90-day payment deadline, provoking anger and pushing back against brands who said the terms were too onerous to work for their businesses.
Soon she stopped paying her suppliers again, which led to a decline in assortment and sales.
Against this backdrop, Saks’ debt began trading below its face value, raising questions about the company’s ability to maintain operations and pay interest to bondholders, people familiar with the matter said. Over the summer, it secured $600 million in new financing and sold key real estate assets to raise more cash.
Although these efforts bought the company time, they ultimately did not prevent a bankruptcy filing.
