More than 380 brands have resumed shipments to Saks Global stores, with inventory flow improving each week since mid-January, CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a LinkedIn post this week.
The sign of improvement in what has been a longstanding problem for the luxury retail giant follows a second-day hearing in its bankruptcy proceeding that unlocked further financing. Saks Global garnered access to $325 million from its $1.75 billion financing package, per van Raemdonck’s post. That makes about $825 million since mid-January, with “another $300 million tranche expected in the coming weeks,” he said.
“With this added funding, we continue to have the liquidity necessary to deliver on our go-forward commitments to our customers, colleagues and brand partners,” he said.
Failure to pay invoices helped land Saks Global in bankruptcy court. For the past year, beginning before the company’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group in late 2024, an increasing number of vendors balked at sending shipments. A resulting dearth of inventory was hurting sales by the second quarter of 2025.
The problem still haunts the company’s operations. On Wednesday some vendors told Retail Dive they feel burned by Saks Global’s payment track record and remain wary – and ready to cease shipments – unless they are paid in a timely manner. For most vendors the clock was reset by the Chapter 11 filing, and payments for shipments with net 30-day terms aren’t late yet, so most are in wait-and-see mode.
Last week the bankruptcy court authorized Saks Global to pay claims, outstanding before the filing, to certain “critical vendors.” The company told the court it had “resolved the majority of formal and informal objections” to its financing. A number of luxury brands, including David Yurman, Kering, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Richemont previously filed objections over concerns that their rights to consigned merchandise be protected.
Those major fashion brands, owed substantial sums, were always likely to be ahead of smaller vendors in line to be paid once Saks Global filed for bankruptcy. But niche brands are important to the conglomerate’s retailers, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, and their ability to differentiate themselves from rivals, including each other.
In his post, van Raemdonck acknowledged that “there is still important work to be done” and said the company will continue to work with vendors.
“We have taken a phased approach to our conversations with our partners as we navigate a high volume of discussions during this period,” he said. “We are committed to engaging in equally productive discussions with many more partners very soon.”