Saks Global Enterprises, the world's largest multi-brand luxury retailer, is shifting its leadership as it has shed real estate, closed stores and considered the sale of trophy properties to raise cash as its debt deepens.
Reports circulated New Year’s Eve from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal that the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is in talks with creditors about financing for a coming Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing. Saks Global said Friday that Executive Chairman Richard Baker assumed the role of CEO, overseeing the company's luxury retail operations.
The company has been targeting roughly $600 million in real estate sales, according to S&P Global Ratings. Saks Global also is exploring the sale of a minority stake in Bergdorf Goodman, the iconic Manhattan luxury retailer, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Those reports come as Saks reportedly missed a $100 million December bond payment on about $2 billion in outstanding bonds. Holders of those bonds valued them at 44% of face value as of Oct. 31, 2025, according to federal regulatory filings.
Saks representatives did not respond to a request to comment. The debt struggles come as Saks has also shuffled its executive staff.
The move by Baker comes after Saks Global and Marc Metrick agreed that Metrick will step down from his role as CEO. This transition reflects Metrick's desire to pursue new opportunities, Saks said in its announcement.
The actions follow a debt restructuring that S&P Global Ratings classified as "tantamount to default" in August 2025. Saks Global exchanged $2.2 billion in senior secured notes for lower-value securities at a discount of approximately $115 million, S&P Global Ratings reported Sept. 9.
"We believe the capital structure remains unsustainable," S&P Global Ratings stated in its September report. The ratings agency forecasted that Saks Global would generate a free operating cash flow deficit of about $500 million this year.
Real estate holdings under pressure
Saks Global operates a real estate portfolio valued at approximately $4.4 billion in net asset value, according to S&P Global Ratings. The company has been monetizing these holdings to shore up liquidity.
Just before Christmas, New York City–based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. purchased the 184,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store in Beverly Hills, California, from Saks for an undisclosed price.
In September, the retailer sold a Neiman Marcus store in Plano, Texas, for an undisclosed price, according to CoStar News. The 150,000-square-foot property closes in January 2027.
"This provides our company with the opportunity to strategically reinvest in areas of our business that drive growth," a Saks Global spokesperson told CoStar News in September.
The company plans to use proceeds from asset sales to pay down its asset-based lending facility, repay vendors and invest in operational synergies from its Neiman Marcus Group acquisition, according to S&P Global Ratings.
In addition to the property sales, the retailer has been looking to trim its store holdings. In November, Saks Global confirmed to CoStar that Saks Off 5th would be closing 10 stores scattered across the United States.
Debt burden expands
Interest expenses will jump to roughly $400 million over the next 12 months, up from $234 million in fiscal 2024, according to S&P Global Ratings. The retailer carries $1.8 billion in asset-based lending debt, with $1.1 billion outstanding as of July 16, 2025.
S&P Global Ratings assigned Saks Global a "CCC" credit rating with a negative outlook. The rating "reflects default risk in the next 12 months without improvement," the ratings firm stated.
Pro forma revenue declined 14% in the first quarter ended May 3, 2025, S&P Global Ratings reported. The company struggles with inventory shortages after stretching payables to vendors in response to liquidity pressures.
"Saks Global has stretched payables in response to liquidity challenges in the past, which caused vendors to withhold inventory receipts," S&P Global Ratings stated.
The retailer cut approximately 14% of its U.S. corporate workforce since acquiring Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion in December 2024, according to CoStar News.
Saks Global closed stores in Palm Beach, Florida, and downtown San Francisco earlier this year, CoStar News reported. The company also shuttered Neiman Marcus' corporate headquarters in Dallas.
Asset sales strategy
"We have initiated a strategic process to explore the potential sale of a minority stake in Bergdorf Goodman," Baker told The Wall Street Journal in September. "This process is intended to unlock value for our stakeholders and de-lever our business."
Any Bergdorf Goodman sale probably would exclude the retailer's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, which the founding Goodman family owns, according to The Wall Street Journal.
S&P Global Ratings warned it could further downgrade Saks Global's credit rating if the company "cannot improve its in-stock inventory position" or its liquidity deteriorates further.
The ratings agency also cited risk of "another debt restructuring that we would view as tantamount to default."
Saks Global owns and operates department stores under the Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Off 5th banners. The combined portfolio includes 70 full-service luxury locations representing nearly 13 million square feet of U.S. retail real estate, the company stated in August.
About one-third of sales come through e-commerce channels, according to S&P Global Ratings.