As it tries to regain its footing in the luxury market, Saks Global is closing more retail operations, including home-oriented Horchow and a number of department stores.
The news comes after Saks, reorganizing after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, announced that it was stepping back from the off-price business.
Saks stated it is integrating the Horchow business, which serves luxury home decor and housewares shoppers, with the Neiman Marcus operation beginning February 19. Saks will then direct customers seeking Horchow online to the neimanmarcus.com home category. They will continue to find the full assortment of brands and product categories previously available on horchow.com, Saks maintained, adding that the transition will create meaningful efficiencies while enabling closer integration across merchandising, marketing and technology.
Saks reported it is refining the Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus store base to focus on profitable locations with the best growth potential. The company is determining which locations it will continue operating as part of the company’s ongoing footprint optimization initiative, based on factors such as performance and lease economics. Store closings planned include eight Saks Fifth Avenue locations and one Neiman Marcus location. They will close as part of the first phase in Sak’s ongoing optimization review, the company pointed out. The Neiman Marcus store set to close operates in Boston’s Copley Place shopping center. The closing Saks locations are in Birmingham, AL; Columbus, OH; East Rutherford, NJ; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Richmond, VA; and Tulsa, OK. Saks Global indicated it also would close the majority of its standalone Fifth Avenue Club personal styling suites.
“We are initiating a series of actions to reinforce Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as the ultimate destinations for luxury with a seamless multi-channel shopping experience,” said Saks CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck. “By optimizing our operational footprint, we will be better positioned to deliver exceptional products, elevated experiences and highly personalized service across all channels, while simultaneously positioning our company to make investments that enable long-term growth and value creation. Importantly, opportunities within the luxury market remain strong, and Saks Global is primed to play a distinct, enduring role within the industry for many years to come.”
