Saks Global Enters Bankruptcy, Lands Added Funds

Following weeks of speculation that such a move was imminent, Saks Global Holdings LLC (New York) has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Concurrent with that filing, the luxury retailer also announced:

• Geoffroy van Raemdonck, former CEO of Neiman Marcus Group (Dallas) before that retailer was acquired by Saks in late 2024, had been brought back on board as CEO of the combined company. The retailer also said it has made several other executive changes in the wake of the filing.

• It had secured a financing commitment of about $1.74 billion, consisting of $1.5 billion from the company’s senior secured bondholders and $240 million of incremental liquidity from its asset-based lenders.

Van Raemdonck succeeds Richard Baker, who stepped down from his role as Executive Chairman and CEO of Saks Global, effective Jan. 13. Van Raemdonck joins Saks Global’s CFO Brandy Richardson, who served in the same role alongside him at Neiman Marcus Group.

“This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead presents a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” said van Raemdonck. “In close partnership with these newly appointed leaders and our colleagues across the organization, we will navigate this process together with a continued focus on serving our customers and luxury brands. I look forward to serving as CEO and continuing to transform the company so that Saks Global continues to play a central role in shaping the future of luxury retail.”

(As reported last month by VMSD.com, van Raemdonck had joined Verneek, which describes itself as a “deeptech enterprise AI company reimagining consumer retail operations” as an advisory board member and strategic investor. It was not immediately known if the executive’s move to Saks Global will impact his role at Verneek.)

In its coverage of the Saks Global filing, Business Insider said the bankruptcy filing showed the business owes millions to such high-profile suppliers as Chanel ($136 million), Gucci’s parent company, Kering ($59 million) and Michael Kors’ parent company, Capri Holdings ($33 million).

Meantime, as the Chapter 11 process proceeds, Saks Global said its Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks OFF 5TH, Last Call and Horchow stores will continue to operate as usual. It was not known if the bankruptcy will eventually include the closing of any of the retailer’s outlets, as often happens in such cases.