Saks to Close White Plains, N.Y., Store

Saks Inc. (Birmingham, Ala.) has announced it will close another underperforming Saks Fifth Avenue store, in White Plains, N.Y. The company has reached an agreement to sell the 128,000-square-foot space to jewelry retailer Fortunoff. Saks will operate the store through Christmas 2001.

This is the second Saks closing to be announced this month. On July 11, the retailer said it would be closing its Palm Springs, Calif., store.

“The White Plains location is being closed,” said the company, “because, after a review of the financial performance of the store, it was determined that the company's return on investment criteria were not being met, and that the store's customers could be well served by other Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the area.”

“We will continue to offer our loyal White Plains customers the luxury fashion and premier service for which Saks Fifth Avenue is known through our Stamford and Greenwich, Conn., stores, as well as in our flagship New York City location,” said Christina Johnson, president and ceo of Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises.

The freestanding store has had trouble competing with the newer, upscale Westchester Mall across the street (Neiman Marcus, the only Nordstrom's in New York State and about 160 luxury specialty stores).