Saks Fifth Avenue

Gimbels ownership

In 1923, Saks & Co. merged with Gimbel Brothers, Inc., owned by a cousin of Horace Saks,[20] Bernard Gimbel, operating as a separate autonomous subsidiary. In September 1924, the two opened a location architected by Starrett & van Vleck[18] the Saks Fifth Avenue Building. The location acquired a full-block avenue frontage south of St. Patrick's Cathedral, facing what would become Rockefeller Center.[21]

Location expansions

1920s - 1930s

Following Horace Saks' death in 1926, Adam Gimbel became president of Saks Fifth Avenue in 1926. The company then expanded, opening seasonal resort branches in Palm Beach (1926), Atlantic City (1927), Lincoln Road in Miami Beach (1929), Southampton on Long Island (1931), Newport, Rhode Island (1935), Sun Valley, Idaho and Westbury, L.I. (1936), and Greenwich, Connecticut (1937).[22]

In 1929, Saks opened its first full-line, year-round flagship store in Chicago. Six years later, the flagship store relocated to a larger location.[22] By the end of the 1930s, Saks Fifth Avenue had a total of 10 stores – the two urban flagships in New York and Chicago, and eight resort stores.

1940s - 1960s

During World War II, Saks opened Navy and Army shops in New Haven, Connecticut, and Princeton, New Jersey, and after the war turned the small branches into University Shops, catering to the Ivy League communities there.[22]

By 1940, Saks opened two additional urban flagship stores: in Beverly Hills, and in Detroit. Three more downtown stores opened between 1949 and 1952, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.[22][23]

Saks Fifth Avenue's first department store in a mall opened in 1954, at Sunrise Center, now The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale. Additional locations opened in malls through the 1990s.[22]

A few of the new suburban stores were freestanding in suburbs that had a significant downtown shopping district, such as in White Plains, New York (1954), and both Garden City, Long Island, and Surfside, near Miami in 1962. Additional stores were built in downtown locations, such as New Orleans, Boston, and Minneapolis.[22]

More University Shops opened, one near Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., another in Ann Arbor, Michigan (1960).[22]

1990s - 2020s

More expansion followed through in the 1990s in Texas, Florida and California. Plans to open in Mexico City were cancelled following the Mexican peso crisis in 1995.[24] California-based I. Magnin closed in 1995, allowing Saks acquired former I. Magnin locations following the latter's closing in 1995, allowing for expansion into San Diego's Fashion Valley and Carmel. The company opened an additional set of downtown locations in areas such as Pasadena, Santa Barbara, and San Diego's La Jolla in California, and in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Charleston, South Carolina.[22]

In Texas, Saks acquired three Texas locations where Marshall Field's was exiting. In 1997 Saks moved its main Houston store from the Saks Pavilion to The Galleria and added a new location at Town & Country. In the Dallas 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.[25]

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,[26] Naples,[27] Fort Myers,[28] Orlando,[29] Sarasota,[30] Tampa[31] and doubled the size of its Boca Raton store.[32]

Acquisition by Brown & Williamson and BATUS, Inc

In 1973, tobacco conglomerate, Brown & Williamson acquired the Gimbels chain, including Saks Fifth Avenue brand.[33] In 1990, Brown & Williamson, under the name BATUS, sold Saks Fifth Avenue for $1.5 billion.[34]

Acquisition by Investcorp and Proffitt's

Also in 1990, the company launched Saks Off 5th, an outlet store offshoot of the main brand, with 107 stores worldwide by 2016.[35]

In 1998, Proffitt's, Inc., the parent company of Proffitt's and other department stores, acquired Saks Holdings, Inc. Upon completing the acquisition, Proffitt's, Inc., changed its name to Saks, Inc.[36][37]

Acquisition by Hudson's Bay Company

In July 2013, Canada-based Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), the oldest commercial corporation in North America and owner of the competing chain Lord & Taylor, announced it would acquire Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company for $2.9 billion.[38]

In 2015 Saks began a $250 million, three-year restoration of its Fifth Avenue flagship store.[39] In October 2015, Saks announced a new location in Greenwich, Connecticut.[40][41] In autumn 2015, Saks announced it would replace its existing store at the Houston Galleria with a new store.[42][43][44][45]

On January 15, 2021, Saks Fifth Avenue unveiled a 54000 sqft space on the fifth floor of its New York flagship, branded Barneys at Saks. The collaboration is aimed at continuing Barneys New York tradition of unearthing and promoting emerging designers.[46] On January 25, Saks launched the first standalone Barneys at Saks store in a 14000 sqft location in Greenwich, Connecticut. This marked the first time Saks had offered men's clothing and furnishings in that market.[47] 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 remained 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][48]

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.[49] In August, the company announced a collaboration with WeWork to convert some Saks spaces to co-working locations.[50] In June 2022, Saks announced that it would convert the original 1938 store building in Beverly Hills, 9600 Wilshire, into offices and apartments. Saks Beverly Hills continued to operate from the former I. Magnin and Barneys buildings, which had previously been incorporated into the store complex.[51]

Saks Global

In July 2024 Saks announced that it planned to acquire rival retailer Neiman Marcus in a reported $2.65 billion merger.[52] The acquisition was finalised in December 2024 and Saks Fifth Avenue became part of the new holding company Saks Global.[53] Amazon invested $475 million into Saks’ acquisition of Neiman Marcus.[54]

Bankruptcy

On January 14, 2026, Saks Global filed for Chapter 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.[55] 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.[54]

Canada

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 150000 sqft Saks Fifth Avenue in downtown Toronto, in a section carved out of the building housing the flagship of its namesake department store, Hudson's Bay Company, connected by sky bridge to the largest downtown mall, Eaton Centre.[66] A second Greater Toronto location opened at Sherway Gardens shortly thereafter.[67] And in February 2018, its third Canadian store opened in Calgary at Chinook Centre.[68]

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.[69] The Calgary store also eventually shut down.

India

A franchise agreement was signed with Reliance Industries in early 2025 to open Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th stores in India.[70]

Mexico

In November 2007, Grupo Sanborns, part of billionaire Carlos Slim's corporate empire, secured a franchise and opened the first Saks store in Mexico, on the affluent far west side of Mexico City at Centro Santa Fe, that country's largest mall. The store closed in 2022.[71] Another store opened in the affluent urban neighborhood of Polanco at Plaza Carso in 2010, but it closed in October 2020.[72][73][74][75][76]

In August 2023, Grupo Sanborns announced that in 2023, it would close its Saks franchise store at Centro Santa Fe in Mexico City, the only store still operating in Mexico after the closure of the Polanco store two years earlier.[77] A branch of Sears Mexico, also part of Grupo Sanborns, was to replace it, and staff were to be retained.[78][76]

Middle East

In November 2001 the first Middle East Saks opened at Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[79] The store closed in 2012.[80][81] 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.[79] Saks was also looking at sites in Bahrain and Beirut for new stores.[79] In 2012, the Riyadh franchise store, owned by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, closed after the licensing agreement expired.[80][81]

In 2005, Saks opened a 80,000 square foot store at the BurJuman Centre in Dubai which closed in 2016; the store was Saks last store in the UAE after failed attempts at expansion.[82] The store was originally scheduled to open in early 2004.[79] A Doha store was scheduled to open in 2005 at Landmark Mall however plans never came to fruition.[79][83] A Tokyo store was also planned to open in 2005.[79]

In 2008, Saks opened its third Middle East store at City Centre Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain. The store has two floors and is 57000 sqft in size. After closing Riyadh and its 2 Dubai stores, it remains Saks' sole store in the Middle East.[84][85] On 18 December 2025, the Bahrain store closed ending Saks presence in the Middle East.[86]

In 2012, Saks licensed its first store in Central Asia, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the then-new Esentai Mall, together with boutiques of international luxury brands. Saks Almaty is 3 floors tall and 91000 sqft in size.[87][88][89] In 2022, the licensing agreement with VILED was renewed through to 2032.[90]

Saks–34th Street

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.[101] 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.[102] The newly renamed Saks-34th Street was sold to Bernard F. Gimbel,[101] and became a part of the New York division of Gimbels (later Manhattan Mall), and a sky bridge across 33rd Street connected the second floors of both flagship buildings.[103] In the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street, the facade of Saks-34th Street is shown in a scene that focuses on the Gimbel's flagship store. The store closed in 1965, citing poor layouts, no escalators, a confused identity, and outdated facade.[101] After Gimbels closed the division, the first floor of the building was used as a Christmas season annex for Gimbel's before being sold to the E. J. Korvettes chain.[104][105] The building was remodeled into the Herald Center in 1985. As of 2016, the primary tenant is H&M, following another remodel.[106]

Beverly Hills

The original Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills, California, at 9600 Wilshire Boulevard, was designed by the architectural firm Parkinson and Parkinson, with interiors by Paul R. Williams.[107][108] The store opened in 1938.[109] The store saw success upon opening and subsequently expanded to almost 74,000 sqft and employ 500 people.[110] Williams created an interior reminiscent of his designs for luxurious private residences, with rooms lit by indirect lamps and footlights focused on the clothes.[107] New departments for furs, corsets, gifts and debutante dresses were added in the 1940 expansion.[110]

The store relocated to the adjacent 9570 Wilshire Boulevard in 2024, and the original location will be converted into a mixed-use development by Hudson's Bay Company.[109]