Saks Is Losing Luxury Shoppers in the Wake of Its Neiman Marcus Takeover

Yahoo

12 hours ago

Saks Global is going through some growing pains.
The parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue bought Neiman Marcus in a $2.7 billion acquisition last year, bringing both department-store behemoths under the same umbrella (along with Bergdorf Goodman). And though the move was meant to unite the luxury titans, the brands have run into some trouble: Consumers are opting to shop at other high-end retailers instead, such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, Bloomberg reported.
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Saks Fifth Ave. saw its sales drop 16 percent year-over-year from the quarter ending June 30, while Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf's combined sales fell 10 percent in the same time period, according to Bloomberg's Second Measure, a spending index that tracks consumers' debit- and credit-card use. June also marked the largest sales drop across the three department stores, according to the data, with Saks seeing a 28 percent decrease in sales and Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf declining by 26 percent.
Over at Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, meanwhile, sales rose over 10 percent at both retailers during the same period. In June specifically, Bloomingdale's sales increased by 13 percent, the Second Measure data says. Bloomberg's spending index does have some limits, though. It tracks more debit purchases that credit card transactions; as a result, the info doesn't paint a complete picture of sales at the retailers, since consumers Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf use credit cards more frequently compared to other customers, while Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom shoppers often opt for debit cards. Even so, Second Measure is helpful in tracking trends across different retailers.
Part of the reason for Saks Global's troubles, in addition to general economic uncertainty, is an increase in order complaints since January, such as damaged packaging and rejected refunds, according to Mary Ross Gilbert, a Bloomberg analyst that studied customer reviews. This has led consumers to look elsewhere for their luxury goods. On top of that, the conglomerate is dealing with some financial woes, recently taking on more debt, in part, to pay off its overdue bills from vendors, who have slowed or even stopped shipments over fears of a lack of payment, Bloomberg reported.
Saks isn't alone in its struggles. A trend of declining sales has been popping up across the luxury industry, thanks to looming tariffs in the U.S. and weakened demand in China, among other challenges. LVMH, for one, was below its estimated sales for Q1 this year, Reuters reported, while Gucci saw its sales drop 25 percent in the first three months of 2025, according to Vogue Business. This year's figures come on top of declining numbers at the end of 2024, with Kering (Gucci's parent company), seeing a year-over-year drop of 12 percent.
As for Saks Global, things may be on the up and up. For one, the brand's new Amazon.com storefront has been met positively, a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg. And shipments from vendors are increasing, too, in the wake of new financing, something that Saks says will 'continue as we execute on our plan to begin paying outstanding balances in July,' the spokesperson told the publication. Making those vendors happy will be a key step to putting the retailer back on the right track.
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