A little over one year after it completed its acquisition of Neiman Marcus, luxury conglomerate Saks Global has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, and has appointed former Neiman Marcus Group CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck as CEO.
While the bankruptcy has been expected, the CEO switch-up is an abrupt about-face — just a week and a half ago, Executive Chairman Richard Baker was named as the replacement for long-time Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick. However, as of Jan. 13, Baker has stepped down from his roles as CEO and Executive Chairman.
In conjunction with its bankruptcy filing, Saks Global — which in addition to Neiman Marcus also owns the Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Off 5TH, Last Call and Horchow brands — secured a financing commitment of approximately $1.75 billion, including $1.5 billion from an ad hoc group of its senior secured bondholders and approximately $240 million of incremental liquidity from its asset-based lenders. The ad hoc group also has committed to $500 million of additional financing when Saks emerges from bankruptcy, which the company said it expects to happen later this year.
A ‘Transformative Financial Transaction’ for Saks
Saks is framing the move as a “transformative financial transaction” that will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and position it for a more stable future. All stores and websites across the company’s portfolio will remain open throughout the process.
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Saks Global currently operates 70 full-line luxury locations as well as a number of off-price locations and ecommerce platforms for each of its banners. As part of the Chapter 11 process, the company said it will evaluate this operational footprint to ensure it is investing resources where there is “the greatest long-term potential.”
That process will be led byVan Raemdonck — who previously served as CEO of Neiman Marcus Group prior to its acquisition by Saks Global, as well as in previous roles at Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren — alongside current CFOBrandy Richardson, who served as CFO with him at Neiman Marcus Group.
“Geoffroy has a proven track record driving transformative growth at Neiman Marcus Group and other brands, building trusted relationships within these organizations and throughout the industry,” said Paul Aronzon, a member of Saks Global’s Board of Directors, in a statement. “His leadership will help advance the company’s focus on stability and long-term value creation. We also want to thank Richard, who was a visionary leader during his tenure at Saks Global. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him continued success in the future.”
Van Raemdonck: ‘This is a Defining Moment’
Van Raemdonck has moved quickly to expand his senior leadership team with a series of appointments, including:
- Darcy Penick as President and Chief Commercial Officer, overseeing stores, marketing, buying, digital, analytics and customer care; and
- Lana Todorovich as Chief of Global Brand Partnerships, leading the luxury retailer’s efforts with brand partners at an enterprise level.
“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 a statement. “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.”
Saks Global is seeking relief through a number of customary “first day” motions with the court to facilitate a smooth transition into Chapter 11 and the continuation of operations. These motions include requests to honor all customer programs, make go-forward payments to vendors and continue employee payroll and benefits.
Upon court approval, the $1 billion of debtor-in-possession financing from the ad hoc group will provide the liquidity Saks needs to fund its operations and turnaround initiatives.
The Writing has Been on the Wall for a While
Saks has been showing signs of financial strain for nearly a year. Rumors of a bankruptcy filing first surfaced when, late last year, Saks missed an interest payment on the debt it took on to buy the Neiman Marcus Group.
In fact, since that $2.7 billion acquisition, Saks has struggled to pay vendors, according to the Wall Street Journal, resulting in weaker merchandise offerings and sales. In July 2025 Saks received $600 million in financing from a majority of its existing bondholders as part of a debt restructuring, a move that prompted S&P Global Ratings to downgrade the retailer’s rating, which said that “the planned exchange of its notes at a discount to par” was “tantamount to a default.”
