Quick Facts
- Saks Global exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 26, 2026, rebranding as Exemplar Luxury Group with $840 million in debt, down from $3.4 billion at filing.
- The reorganized company closed 62 off-price locations and cut roughly 1,840 jobs during the restructuring, now operating 49 full-line luxury stores.
- ELG terminated its Amazon partnership during the process and does not expect to turn a profit for three years.
Saks Global emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 26, 2026, less than six months after filing, and rebranded as Exemplar Luxury Group. The company exited court protection carrying $840 million in debt, including $340 million on its asset-based loan facility and $500 million in exit term loans.
The restructuring cut the company’s debt load by roughly 75%, or approximately $2.3 billion, according to advisory firm Octus. A bankruptcy court approved the reorganization plan on June 5, with the plan taking full effect June 26.
The ad hoc secured noteholder group provided $500 million in new capital and became the majority owners of the reorganized company. Lenders who provided bankruptcy financing exchanged that debt for equity, becoming the new controlling shareholders.
CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck described a reset. “It is a new day for ELG, and we are focused on executing our business plan with discipline and investing in the experiences that matter most to our customers,” he said.
Stores and Workforce
The reorganized company operates 49 full-line stores: 15 Saks Fifth Avenue locations, 33 Neiman Marcus stores, and Bergdorf Goodman. Before bankruptcy, Saks operated 33 Fifth Avenue locations and Neiman Marcus ran 36 stores.
During the restructuring, ELG closed 62 off-price locations, including 57 Saks OFF 5th stores and all five Neiman Marcus Last Call sites. It also shuttered 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three Neiman Marcus locations.
The company cut roughly 640 corporate positions, representing about 16% of its corporate staff. Those reductions followed more than 1,200 earlier layoffs tied to store and facility closures.
Financial Targets and Lingering Risks
ELG is targeting $85 million in EBITDA for 2026. The longer-term plan calls for $9 billion in gross merchandise value and double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth by 2030. The company does not expect to be profitable for three years.
A $1.25 billion mortgage on the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in New York City adds complexity to the debt picture. The company describes it as non-recourse, secured by the flagship property in a separate corporate entity. Analysts are less sanguine.
“The CMBS loan is still part of the burden,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData. “Admittedly, the debt may sit in a separate corporate entity, but it somehow must be serviced, and it looks like that will be via payments Exemplar makes on the store. The whole thing looks very tangled and overly complex.”
Amazon Partnership Ends
During the restructuring, Saks Global terminated its partnership with Amazon to sell products on the e-commerce platform. Luxury brands had pushed back against distribution through a mass-market site. Amazon had invested $475 million in the partnership and was owed a guarantee of at least $900 million in referral fees over an eight-year period.
Van Raemdonck said ELG will purchase more than $3 billion in goods at cost annually across the three banners. ELG will rely entirely on its own digital platforms and clienteling data going forward.
New Leadership Structure
ELG’s board was reconstituted as a seven-member body. It includes two independent directors: Dave Kimbell, former CEO of Ulta Beauty, and Philippe Schaus, former president and global CEO of Moet Hennessy.
One industry consultant raised a longer-term question about customer retention, asking whether Exemplar has permanently lost a meaningful share of its luxury shoppers to Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and direct-to-consumer boutiques. “Restoring supplier confidence is only a first step,” the consultant noted.
Read more: Saks parent reduces debt to under $1B
