Saks Global Wins Back 600 Brands After Bankruptcy Filing, But Scars Remain

Quick Facts

Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 13-14, 2026, listing $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities.
Nearly 600 brands have resumed shipments since the filing, with merchandise receipts up nearly 60% in March year-over-year.
Attorney Joseph Sarachek, representing roughly 30 vendor brands, warned that some clients owed between $600,000 and $10 million could go out of business.

Saks Global is climbing back from one of the largest retail bankruptcies since the pandemic. But the road back to vendor trust is long, and for some small brands, it came too late.

On December 23, 2024, Hudson’s Bay Company completed its $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group, combining Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus under one roof. Vendors hoped the deal would end months of delayed and missed payments. It did not.

By February 2025, then-CEO Marc Metrick sent a letter to vendors acknowledging “the last 18 months and the challenges regarding payments.” Under a new plan effective March 1, vendors would be paid 90 days from receipt of inventory, up from 30-day terms many had previously held. Past-due balances would be paid in 12 installments beginning July 2025.

The vendor community responded with anger. Brands were, in effect, financing the payments already owed to them. Reports spread that companies with ties to Saks leadership or backed by major conglomerates were exempt from the new terms. Metrick confirmed this, saying, “Terms are based on individual brand negotiations, so some brands would have different terms.”

For independent labels, the stakes were severe. Wholesale orders from Saks-owned banners can represent more than 50% of annual revenue for some brands. One brand executive, still owed roughly $100,000 from Saks Fifth Avenue, stopped shipping merchandise in 2024. “We thought we could do $2 million in revenue with them for the year, but I had no faith we were going to get paid,” the executive said.

Multiple brands told the Business of Fashion they would no longer work with any Saks Global banner. Promised installment payments failed to arrive for some, raising fresh doubts about the company’s cash position.

Saks Global Enterprises LLC and 112 affiliates filed Chapter 11 petitions on January 13 and 14, 2026. The filing followed a missed $100 million debt payment in December 2025. The company listed between $1 billion and $10 billion in both assets and liabilities.

In court filings, Chief Restructuring Officer Mark Weinsten described vendor relationships as central to the business model, calling many brands “irreplaceable, category-defining” partners whose absence would alter the customer experience.

Large creditors included Chanel and Kering, the parent of Gucci and Saint Laurent. Industry observers expected those companies to recover. The concern centered on smaller vendors. Attorney Joseph Sarachek, who represented about 30 brands owed money by Saks Global, said, “This is very painful. A lot of these guys are going to go out of business.”

Ahead of the filing, Saks secured $1.75 billion in new financing. That included $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to fund operations during Chapter 11 and an additional $500 million available after emergence from bankruptcy.

The restructuring has produced early results. Nearly 600 brands have resumed shipments. The company released $1.4 billion in retail receipts. Merchandise receipts rose nearly 60% in March month-to-date compared with the prior year.

Whether those numbers translate into lasting vendor confidence remains an open question. For brands that shuttered accounts or absorbed months of nonpayment, the damage is already done.