Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. has purchased the ground lease on Saks Global’s 184,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store in Beverly Hills for $50 million, the priciest retail property deal in years for the Los Angeles area shopping enclave of Beverly Hills.
The four-story building sits on 0.89 acres at 9700 Wilshire Blvd., planted squarely in the city’s upscale, palm-tree-lined shopping district in Los Angeles County. The property is just steps from Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store, the Beverly Wilshire hotel and the entrance to Rodeo Drive, where rows of luxury boutiques draw tourists and locals alike.
The last Beverly Hills retail sale comparable in size to this one came in mid-2024, when the 11,000-square-foot, two-property North Beverly Drive Retail Collection — leased to high-end bookseller Taschen and fashion label Maje — traded for $39.2 million, or $3,524 per square foot.
The latest deal stands out as overall retail investment in the affluent city 26 miles west of downtown Los Angeles has cooled. Sales volume for Beverly Hills retail properties is down 16% in the past year, according to CoStar data.
The sale comes a little more than a year after Saks Global acquired Neiman Marcus in a $2.7 billion deal. Since then, department stores have been grappling with inflation-weary consumers and intensifying competition from online retailers.
This transaction is one of several Saks Global has executed in recent months as it works to shore up its balance sheet ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing.
The company previously sold the ground lease on its San Francisco Neiman Marcus store to National Realty & Development and is marketing a former Lord & Taylor store at King of Prussia Mall near Philadelphia that has been converted into a Netflix House.
Despite those moves, Saks Global still owns or holds stakes in 30 properties across the U.S., according to CoStar data, though records show the company is weighing additional deals.
The luxury retailer has struggled to keep shelves stocked with its most in-demand designer goods because of late payments to vendors, according to industry professionals.
But at the Beverly Hills store, business still felt lively around lunchtime on a Tuesday, with a mix of customers sipping coffee in the café or perusing designer handbags.