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Saks Global, the operator of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, said it will close eight Saks Fifth Avenue stores and one Neiman Marcus store as it restructures in Chapter 11. The company said the first phase of store closures is focused on concentrating on its most profitable businesses and paring down debt.
In a statement, Saks Global said the Saks Fifth Avenue locations targeted for closure include stores in Philadelphia, Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix. The company said the Neiman Marcus store slated to close is its Boston location. Saks Global said the stores earmarked for closing will remain open until the end of April.
With the planned closures, Saks Global said it expects to end up with 25 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 35 Neiman Marcus stores. The company also said it will continue operating its two Bergdorf Goodman stores, a luxury department store it also owns.
Saks Global said it is winding down 14 standalone Fifth Avenue Club personal styling suites, while keeping three standalone sites. It also said it will close its Horchow.com home site, a business Neiman Marcus acquired in the late 1980s.
The company said that as of Feb. 19, shoppers will be redirected to the home category on NeimanMarcus.com, where it will display the full assortment previously available on Horchow.com. Saks Global described the moves as an initial phase of closures across both Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Geoffroy van Raemdonck, the chief executive of Saks Global, said in the company statement that it is initiating “a series of actions to reinforce Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as the ultimate destinations for luxury with a seamless multichannel shopping experience.”
The store closures follow other steps the company has previously announced as it works through Chapter 11. Saks Global said in an earlier move that it would close most Saks Off 5th locations, and that it would shutter all but 12 stores. The company also previously announced it was shutting down the remaining Last Call stores, which it described as outlet locations for Neiman Marcus inventory.
Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Jan. 14, after what the company described as financial pressure tied to competition and to the debt it took on to buy Neiman Marcus roughly a year earlier. Saks Global said it had secured about $500 million of a broader $1.75 billion financial package, saying the money will help pay suppliers facing unpaid bills.
Saks Global said the stores selected for closing represent a small part of its business and were not profitable.