Saks Global said Friday it was closing 15 more stores as the luxury retailer, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, tries to cut losses and focus on more profitable, higher-end locations.
The company has largely completed the process of shutting down underperforming stores with Friday’s announcement, but was still working with some landlords to finalize its store count after weak sales led to the company defaulting on vendor payments and losing out on inventory as brands stopped shipping products last year, it said.
The company is closing 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three Neiman Marcus locations. Locations include stores in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Antonio and Tysons Va. There will be 13 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 32 Neiman Marcus stores remaining.
The restructuring does not affect its portfolio of two Bergdorf Goodman stores in New York. Saks had shut most of its Saks OFF Fifth retail locations and remaining Neiman Marcus Last Call stores in an earlier round of closures.
Saks said its inventory flow has improved with more than 500 brands resuming shipping and releasing nearly $1.3 billion in retail receipts.
On Feb. 20, a US bankruptcy judge gave final approval to Saks Global’s bankruptcy financing, which provided $1 billion in new funding to the company. The company resolved concerns from vendors such as Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, LVMH, as well as landlords and Amazon about getting paid for goods shipped to the retailer before it went bankrupt.
Saks filed for bankruptcy with $3.4 billion in debt just about a year after a deal intended to create a luxury powerhouse brought Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus under the same roof.
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