Saks Global is preparing to close its Saks Fifth Avenue department store at 700 N Michigan Avenue on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, removing a long-standing luxury retail presence from one of the corridor’s prime addresses. The company has decided to shut the location as part of a broader pullback across its national store network.
The closure in Chicago is one of 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores that the company plans to eliminate nationwide. In total, Saks Global intends to close 15 locations, a group that includes both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus-branded stores. The streamlining effort reflects a significant retrenchment for the retailer as it reorganizes its operations.
The store closures are unfolding in the context of Saks Global’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy protection in January. As part of the court process, Saks Global secured final approval for a $1 billion bankruptcy loan last month, providing liquidity to support the business while it executes its restructuring plan and rationalizes its footprint.
In addition to shuttering stores, Saks Global is reducing headcount as it restructures. The company is cutting more than 1,200 jobs as it implements its plan to close over a dozen locations across the country. The combination of store closures and layoffs illustrates the scale of the operational reset being undertaken following the bankruptcy filing.
Beyond Chicago, Saks Global is planning closures in multiple states, affecting a variety of markets and shopping districts. Other Saks locations slated to close are in Ohio, Maryland, California, Las Vegas, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, and Virginia. These moves will further reduce the retailer’s physical footprint in key regional and tourist-oriented destinations.
While the Saks Fifth Avenue at 700 N Michigan Avenue is scheduled to close, the company is maintaining a presence for its Neiman Marcus brand on the same corridor. Saks Global has indicated that Chicago’s Neiman Marcus store on Michigan Avenue will remain open, preserving at least one luxury department store under the company’s umbrella along the Magnificent Mile.
The planned closure of the Saks Fifth Avenue store removes a high-profile retail tenant from one of Chicago’s most visible shopping streets and comes amid broader changes to Saks Global’s national portfolio. As the company advances through its bankruptcy restructuring, its decisions on which locations to close or maintain will continue to reshape its brick-and-mortar footprint and its role in major retail corridors.
