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.jpg) Exterior of theflagship store inMidtown Manhattan (2019) | |
| Formerly |
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Retail |
| Genre | Department stores |
| Founded | 1867; 159 years ago (1867) inWashington D.C., United States |
| Founder | Andrew Saks |
| Headquarters | New York City,New York, United States |
Number of locations | 42 |
Areas served | |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, handbags, luggage, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, bedding, bath, home decor, and housewares |
| Parent |
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| Website | saksfifthavenue |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4][5] | |
Saks Fifth Avenue (colloquiallySaks) is anupmarket American department store chain founded in 1867 byAndrew Saks. The first store opened in theF Street shopping district ofWashington, D.C., and expanded intoManhattan with itsHerald Square store in 1902. Saks was bought by theGimbels department store chain in 1923 and expanded nationwide during this ownership, and opened itsflagship store onFifth Avenue in 1924. Gimbels and Saks were acquired byBrown & Williamson in 1973, and transferred to sister companyBatus Inc. in 1980. While Gimbels was liquidated in 1987, Saks was sold toInvestcorp in 1990.Saks Off 5th was established as a Saks clearance store the same year, and has since evolved into anoff-price store chain.[6][7] Saks was acquired by Proffitt's, Inc. (renamedSaks, Inc.) in 1998.
Saks, Inc. was acquired by theHudson's Bay Company in 2013.[8][9] Saks and Saks Off 5th werespun-off intoSaks Global, and consequently became sister brands with department storesBergdorf Goodman andNeiman Marcus, in 2024.[10][11] As of 2026, Saks Fifth Avenue operates one international branch inAlmaty, Kazakhstan. Stores previously operated in Canada through the Hudson's Bay Company from 2016 until 2025, inMexico through a franchising agreement withGrupo Sanborns from 2007 until 2023, and across the Middle East from 2001 until 2025.
Andrew Saks was born to aGerman Jewish family, inBaltimore,Maryland. He worked as a peddler and paper boy before moving toWashington, D.C., where at the age of only 20, and in the still-chaotic and tough economic times of 1867, two years after the United States prevailed in theAmerican Civil War, he established a men's clothing store[12] with his brother Isadore.[13][14] A. Saks & Co. occupied a storefront in the Avenue House Hotel building at 517 (300–308) 7th Street, N.W., in what is stillWashington's downtown shopping district. Saks offered his goods at one price only, no bargaining, and offered refunds on merchandise returns, neither of which were the more common practice at that place and time.[citation needed] Saks was also known for its "forceful and interesting, but strictly truthful" newspaper advertising, according to the WashingtonEvening Star, including a two-page spread, large for that time, in that newspaper on April 4, 1898. Saks annexed the store next door, and in 1887 started building a large new store on the site of the old Avenue Hotel Building at 7th and Market Space (nowUnited States Navy Memorial Plaza).[15]
By 1896, Saks and Co. had stores in Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia; New York City; and Indianapolis, in addition to Washington, D.C., where, Saks called itself "Washington's Wonderful Store".[16]
Saks opened a very large store in 1902 inNew York City'sHerald Square on34th Street andBroadway.[15][17]: 2 Andrew Saks ran the New York store as a family business with his brother Isadore, and his sons Horace and William.[citation needed] Andrew Saks died in 1912 and his son Horace took over the company's management.[17]: 2
In 1923, Saks & Co. merged withGimbel Brothers, Inc., which was owned by a cousin of Horace Saks,[18]Bernard Gimbel, operating as a separate autonomous subsidiary. On September 15, 1924, Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel opened in theSaks Fifth Avenue Building at 611 Fifth Avenue, with a full-block avenue frontage south ofSt. Patrick's Cathedral, facing what would becomeRockefeller Center.[19] The architects wereStarrett & van Vleck, who developed a design derived fromclassical architecture.[17]: 4–5
When Bernard's cousin, Adam Gimbel, became president of Saks Fifth Avenue in 1926 after Horace Saks's sudden death, the company expanded, opening seasonal resort branches inPalm Beach (1926),Atlantic City (1927),Lincoln Road inMiami Beach (1929),Southampton onLong Island (1931),Newport, Rhode Island (1935),Sun Valley, Idaho andWestbury, L.I. (1936), andGreenwich, Connecticut (1937).[20]
In 1929, Saks opened its first full-line, year-round flagship store inChicago, and only six years later moved to a larger location.[20] By the end of the 1930s, Saks Fifth Avenue had a total of 10 stores – the two large urban flagships in New York and Chicago, and eight resort stores.
During World War Two, Saks opened Navy and Army shops inNew Haven, Connecticut andPrinceton, New Jersey, and after the war turned the small branches into University Shops, catering to the Ivy League communities there. More University Shops would open, one nearHarvard inCambridge, Mass., another inAnn Arbor, Michigan (1960).[20] Saks had already opened two urban flagship stores before the U.S. joined the war:its now-legendary store inBeverly Hills, and inDetroit (1940). After the war, three more downtown stores opened, albeit smaller in scale:Pittsburgh (1949),Philadelphia (1952), andSan Francisco (1952)[20] where Saks competed head-on with local luxury championI. Magnin.[21]
During the 1950s, the shift from downtown shopping to suburban shopping malls gained momentum. Saks Fifth Avenue's first anchor department store in a mall opened in 1954, at Sunrise Center, nowThe Galleria at Fort Lauderdale. A few of the new suburban stores were freestanding in suburbs that had a significant downtown shopping district, such as inWhite Plains, New York (1954), and bothGarden City, Long Island, andSurfside, near Miami in 1962. A few were in malls built in downtowns, such as New Orleans, Boston, and Minneapolis. But most new Saks stores, dozens, opened in malls over the decades through the 1990s.[20]
More expansion followed through in the 1990s particularly into Texas, Florida and California. Plans to open inMexico City were also scrapped following theMexican peso crisis in 1995. the store was set to open at the Molière222 mall inPolanco,El Palacio de Hierro, then took over the site where they still operate.[22] California-basedI. Magnin closed in 1995, allowing Saks to acquire some of their locations and open in San Diego'sFashion Valley and expand inCarmel. As in the 1950s, the company opened a wave of smaller "Main Street" stores in suburbs with downtown shopping, such asPasadena,Santa Barbara, andSan Diego's La Jolla in California, and inGreenwich, Connecticut, andCharleston, South Carolina.[20] In Texas, Saks acquired three Texas locations whereMarshall Field's was exiting. In 1997 Saks moved its main Houston store from theSaks Pavilion toThe Galleria and added a new location at Town & Country. In theDallas Galleria, Saks moved within the mall to a larger location. In addition to the former Field's locations, Saks Austin opened in 1997 and Fort Worth in 2000.[23]
In Florida in the 1990s, seven Saks Fifth Avenue stores opened, for a total of 11 stores by the end of the decade, adding Palm Beach Gardens,[24] Naples,[25] Fort Myers,[26] Orlando,[27] Sarasota,[28] Tampa[29] and doubled the size of its Boca Raton store.[30]
Also in 1990, the company launched "Saks Off 5th", anoutlet store offshoot of the main brand, with 107 stores worldwide by 2016.[31]
In 1998, Proffitt's, Inc., the parent company ofProffitt's and other department stores, acquired Saks Holdings, Inc. Upon completing the acquisition, Proffitt's, Inc., changed its name toSaks, Inc.[32][33]
In 2004, Saks was enjoying an annual sales growth rate of 7.7% on a same-store basis, but was underperforming Neiman Marcus (+17%) and Nordstrom (+10%). In Southern California, analysts said that Saks was "struggling to maintain its cachet" against the two competitors and Bloomingdales. On October 1, Saks announced the closing of eight underperforming, mostly smaller Saks stores: Pasadena, Palos Verdes, Mission Viejo, La Jolla and Carmel in California, Garden City NY, Hilton Head SC, and Downtown Minneapolis.[34][35]
In August 2007, theUnited States Postal Service began an experimental program selling the plusZIP code extension to businesses. The first company to do so was Saks Fifth Avenue, which received the ZIP code of 10022-7463 ("SHOE", on a U.S. touch-tone keypad) for the eighth-floor shoe department in its flagshipFifth Avenue store.[36]
During the2007–2009 recession, Saks had to cut prices and profit margins, thus according to Reuters "training shoppers to expect discounts. It took three years before it could start selling at closer to full price".[37][38][39][40][41][42]
As of 2013, the New York flagship store, whose real estate value was estimated between $800 million and over $1 billion at the time, generated around 20% of Saks' annual sales at $620 million, with other stores being less profitable according to analysts.[37][43]
On July 29, 2013,Canada-basedHudson's Bay Company (HBC), the oldest commercial corporation in North America and owner of the competing chainLord & Taylor, announced it would acquire Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company forUS$2.9 billion.[44]
In 2015 Saks began a $250 million, three-year restoration of itsFifth Avenue flagship store.[45] In October 2015, Saks announced a new location inGreenwich, Connecticut.[46][47] In autumn 2015, Saks announced it would replace its existing store at theHouston Galleria with a new store.[48][49][50][51]
On January 15, 2021, Saks Fifth Avenue unveiled a 54,000-square-foot (5,000 m2) space on the fifth floor of its New York flagship, brandedBarneys at Saks. The collaboration is aimed at continuingBarneys New York tradition of unearthing and promoting emerging designers.[52] On January 25, Saks launched the first standalone Barneys at Saks store in a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) location inGreenwich, Connecticut. This marked the first time Saks had offered men's clothing and furnishings in that market.[53] In March,HBC and growth capital investor,Insight Partners, established Saks Fifth Avenue's ecommerce business as a stand-alone entity, known as "Saks". Insight Partners made a $500 million minority equity investment in Saks. The retailer's 39-store fleet operates separately as an entity referred to as "SFA," which remains wholly owned by HBC. At the time of the separation, HBC named Marc Metrick, CEO of Saks, the ecommerce business. Metrick was previously president of Saks Fifth Avenue since 2015.[11][54]
In April, Saks announced that it would close all 27 of its fur salons, among which New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Beverly Hills, by the end of January 2022. The company also said that by January 2023, it would stop sales of products made from fur of wild animals or from animals raised for their fur.[55] In August, the company announced a collaboration withWeWork to convert some Saks spaces to co-working locations.[56] In June 2022, Saks announced that it would convert the original 1938 store building inBeverly Hills, 9600Wilshire, into offices and apartments. Saks Beverly Hills continues to operate from the formerI. Magnin andBarneys buildings, which had previously been incorporated into the store complex.[57]
In July 2024 Saks announced that it planned to acquire rival retailerNeiman Marcus in a reported $2.65 billion merger.[58] The acquisition was finalised in December 2024 and Saks Fifth Avenue became part of the new holding companySaks Global.[59] Amazon invested $475 million into Saks’ acquisition of Neiman Marcus.[60]
On January 14, 2026, Saks Global filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling with heavy debt relying on its acquisition and merger of Neiman Marcus. The company also blamed a rapid consumer shift in luxury goods due to inflating prices.[61] Amazon filed an objection to Saks Global’s bankruptcy financing plan, citing the fact that Saks failed to hold up their agreement and worried that bankruptcy will push Amazon further down the repayment pecking order.[60]
Canada expansion plans were drafted with the acquisition by HBC in 2013, calling for up to seven Saks stores across the country, of which three eventually opened. In February 2016, it opened a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) Saks Fifth Avenue in downtownToronto, in a section carved out of thebuilding housing the flagship of its namesake department store,Hudson's Bay Company, connected bysky bridge to the largest downtown mall,Eaton Centre.[62] A secondGreater Toronto location opened atSherway Gardens shortly thereafter.[63] And in February 2018, its third Canadian store opened inCalgary atChinook Centre.[64]
On March 14, 2025, shortly after the bankruptcy and collapse of Hudson's Bay, it was announced that Hudson's Bay would be liquidating and shuttering two of the three Saks Fifth Avenue locations in Canada and all 13 Saks Off 5th locations in Canada. Liquidation sales are set to begin as soon as the following week, with locations to be permanently shuttered by June 2025.[65] The Calgary store also eventually shut down.
A franchise agreement was signed withReliance Industries in early 2025 to open Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th stores in India.[66]
In November 2007,Grupo Sanborns, part of billionaireCarlos Slim's corporate empire, secured a franchise and opened the first Saks store inMexico, on the affluent far west side ofMexico City atCentro Santa Fe, that country's largest mall. The store closed in 2022.[67] Another store opened in the affluent urban neighborhood ofPolanco atPlaza Carso in 2010, but it closed in October 2020.[68][69][70][71][72]
In August 2023,Grupo Sanborns announced that in 2023, it would close its Saks franchise store atCentro Santa Fe inMexico City, the only store still operating in Mexico after the closure of the Polanco store two years earlier.[73] A branch ofSears Mexico, also part of Grupo Sanborns, was to replace it, and staff were to be retained.[74][72]
In November 2001 the firstMiddle East Saks opened atKingdom Centre inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia.[75] The store closed in 2012.[76][77] In 2003 plans for stores in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were announced following the signing of licensing agreements, along with plans for 5 to 10 stores across Japan.[75] Saks was also looking at sites in Bahrain andBeirut for new stores.[75] In 2012, the Riyadh franchise store, owned byPrince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, closed after the licensing agreement expired.[76][77]
In 2005, Saks opened a 80,000 square foot store at theBurJuman Centre inDubai which closed in 2016; the store was Saks last store in theUAE after failed attempts at expansion.[78] The store was originally scheduled to open in early 2004.[75] A Doha store was scheduled to open in 2005 atLandmark Mall however plans never came to fruition.[75][79] A Tokyo store was also planned to open in 2005.[75]
In 2008, Saks opened its third Middle East store atCity Centre Bahrain inManama,Bahrain. The store has two floors and is 57,000 square feet (5,300 m2) in size. After closing Riyadh and its 2 Dubai stores, it remains Saks' sole store in the Middle East.[80][81] On 18 December 2025, the Bahrain store closed ending Saks presence in the Middle East.[82]
In 2012, Saks licensed its first store inCentral Asia, inAlmaty, Kazakhstan, at the then-newEsentai Mall, together with boutiques of international luxury brands. Saks Almaty is 3 floors tall and 91,000 square feet (8,500 m2) in size.[83][84][85] In 2022, the licensing agreement withVILED was renewed through to 2032.[86]
In 2005, vendors filed against Saks alleging unlawfulchargebacks. TheU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigated the complaint for years and, according to theNew York Times, "exposed a tangle of illicit tactics that let Saks... keep money it owed to clothing makers", inflating Saks' yearly earnings up to 43% and abusively collecting around $30 million from suppliers over seven years.[87] Saks settled with the SEC in 2007, after firing three or more executives involved in the fraudulent activities.[87][88]
In 2014, Saks firedtransgender employee Leyth Jamal after she was allegedly "belittled by coworkers, forced to use the men's room and repeatedly referred to by male pronouns (he and him)".[89][90] After Jamal submitted a lawsuit for unfair dismissal, the company stated in amotion to dismiss that "it is well settled that transsexuals are not protected byTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."[89][90][91] In a court filing, theUnited States Department of Justice rebuked Saks' argument, stating that "discrimination against an individual based on gender identity is discrimination because of sex."[92] TheHuman Rights Campaign removed the company from its list of "allies" during the controversy.[89][90][91] The lawsuit wassettled out of court with undisclosed terms.[92]
In 2017, following the events ofHurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Saks's San Juan store inMall of San Juan suffered major damages along with its neighboring anchor storeNordstrom.Taubman Centers, the company which owns the mall, filed a lawsuit against Saks for failing to provide an estimated reopening date and failing to restore damages after the hurricane due to a binding contract.[93][94] Although Nordstrom reopened on November 9, 2018,[95] Saks Fifth Avenue vacated The Mall of San Juan after two years of litigation.[96]
Saks-34th Street was a fashion-focused middle market department store at 1293-1311 Broadway on Herald Square. The building, built in 1902, had seven stories and was designed by Buchman & Fox.[97] The store was spun off from Saks & Company when that upscale retailer moved to Fifth Avenue, a location that Saks Fifth Avenue maintains to this day.[98] The newly renamed Saks-34th Street was sold to Bernard F. Gimbel,[97] and became a part of the New York division ofGimbels (laterManhattan Mall), and a sky bridge across 33rd Street connected the second floors of both flagship buildings.[99] In the 1947 movieMiracle on 34th Street the facade of Saks-34th Street is shown in a scene that focuses on the Gimbel's flagship store. Branch locations were opened around the greater New York area. The store closed in 1965, citing poor layouts, no escalators, a confused identity, and outdated facade.[97] After Gimbels decided to close the division, the first floor of the building was used as a Christmas season annex for Gimbel's before being sold to theE. J. Korvettes chain.[100][101] After the demise of the Korvette's chain the building was remodeled into the Herald Center, in 1985. As of 2016[update] the primary tenant is H&M, following another remodel.[102]
_2023_July_02.jpg)
The original Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills, California, at9600 Wilshire Boulevard, was designed by the architectural firmParkinson and Parkinson, with interiors byPaul R. Williams.[103][104] The store opened in 1938.[105] The store was immediately successful upon opening and it would subsequently expand to almost 74,000 square feet (6,900 m2) and employ 500 people.[106] Williams created an interior reminiscent of his designs for luxurious private residences, with rooms lit by indirect lamps and footlights focused on the clothes.[103] New departments for furs, corsets, gifts and debutante dresses were added in the 1940 expansion.[106]
The store relocated to the adjacent9570 Wilshire Boulevard in 2024, and the original location will be converted into amixed-use development byHudson's Bay Company.[105]
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Saks opened Off 5th in 1990 as a merchandise clearinghouse, but has also expanded since then…HBC's three distinct retail businesses,
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