Two of the biggest names in luxury department stores have officially combined forces.
Saks Global has completed a $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group, Hypebeast reported on Thursday. The deal means that Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman will all be part of the same family, with each entity remaining a distinct brand.
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"This milestone transaction marks a transformative moment for Saks Global and the luxury retail industry," Richard Baker, the executive chairman of Saks Global, said in a statement. "By uniting Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue, we have created an unparalleled multi-brand luxury portfolio with tremendous growth potential. With data and innovation at our core and a portfolio of prime real estate, we aim to redefine the luxury shopping experience."
The tranaction occurred with investment from a number of other companies, most notably Amazon, Hypebeast wrote. The Jeff Bezos–founded company aims to work with Saks Global to innovate on behalf of both brand partners and customers. Elsewhere, funds were contributed by the brand owner and licensing company Authentic Brands Group and the G-III Apparel Group. Salesforce, another investor, plans to use first-party data and AI to make the shopping experience even more personalized.
That last addition may be rather helpful in a world that's increasingly turning away from department stores. Over the past several years, shoppers have been forgoing malls and such stores in favor of smaller, more intimate boutiques . There, they can receive more personalized service, along with private shopping experiences and increased access to coveted labels and items. If Saks Global is able to find a way to make its stores more similar to that, it may be able to reverse its fortunes at least a little bit.
As for Neiman Marcus, the company initially filed for bankruptcy all the way back in May 2020, when it became the largest American retailer to begin bankruptcy proceedings since the start of the pandemic. At the time, the group had reached an agreement with lenders for financial restructuring, and it promised that it would continue to operate its department stores into the future.
Now those operations will happen hand-in-hand with those of Saks, at one point one of Neiman Marcus's biggest competitors. Consolidation has turned them into business partners, though.
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