Saks Global Is Cutting 5 Percent of Its Corporate Workforce
Saks Global is cutting 5 percent of its corporate workforce, or just under 150 staffers, WWD has learned.
The cutback is part of the integration of Saks Fifth Avenue and the Neiman Marcus Group in the wake of Saks Global’s $2.7 billion purchase of NMG in December. Further consolidations, including layoffs, are expected.
“We are continuing the integration process following our recent acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group by consolidating functional leadership, clarifying key decision makers and beginning to simplify our organizational structure,” Saks said in a statement provided to WWD. “As a result, we have eliminated certain roles. We are grateful to these colleagues for their contributions and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”
WWD obtained a copy of a memo Saks Global chief executive officer Marc Metrick sent to employees on Tuesday.
Watch on FN
“There is exceptional talent across Saks Global which means there will be difficult decisions along the way. These changes are never easy, but they are necessary to position the company for future success,” Metrick wrote.
“These changes focus on Saks Global’s finance, legal, operations, people, technology and transformation teams, select commercial and store teams that support Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, and select teams at Saks Off 5TH. There are no changes to share for Bergdorf Goodman.”
Metrick noted that there will be additional changes at Saks Global, as the integration with Neiman’s progresses.
“At times, it may feel like a lot of change, but we will continue to be thoughtful and intentional in our decisions with respect to our people, processes and business, and in how they are communicated,” Metrick wrote.
The changes are coming fast and furious for Saks and, in at least some cases, meeting with some resistance.
Dallas politicians and local economic leaders have formed a coalition attempting to prevent the Neiman Marcus flagship from closing, which will lead to layoffs. Saks said efforts will be made to reassign affected individuals at the store.
Saks Global management is being urged to resolve a lease issue Saks says is forcing Neiman’s downtown Dallas store to close.
“This is more than just a store shutting down. It’s an historic landmark, a pillar of Dallas culture, and what makes this city unique,” said Jennifer Scripps, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Downtown Dallas Inc., Tuesday morning at a press conference in front of the Neiman’s flagship at 1618 Main Street.
But for the Dallas elite, there’s very little time to reverse the decision to close Neiman’s Dallas flagship on March 31.
“After more than a decade of negotiations, we received a notice from a landlord to terminate our occupancy, forcing us to close the Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas location effective March 31, 2025,” Saks said in a statement Feb. 17. The dispute involved a land lease held by one of the landlords on the site. The negotiations would have been held by the previous owners of NMG.
“We abruptly learned this news,” of the flagship closing, said Scripps. “We felt like it seemed premature or it was like starting to plan a funeral without verifying the patient didn’t have a glimmer of life left. We were heartened to hear that Saks made it abundantly clear that they do not want to leave Dallas, due to circumstances beyond their control.”
City manager Kimberly Bizer Tolbert, a downtown Dallas resident, told the crowd: “It’s important that we continue to focus on this flagship store. Since it was built more than 110 years ago to replace the original building after a fire, it has become of the fabric of downtown, a premier luxury destination. It put Dallas on the international map. It’s more than an iconic shopping destination. It’s a place to steal away for some beautiful retail therapy.”
Tolbert suggested that Neiman’s in Dallas should prosper going forward, stating that 4 million visitors to downtown are expected in 2026, with the convention center being redeveloped and with some FIFA World Cup soccer games to be held in Dallas.
Councilman Paul Ridley said that when Richard Baker, executive chairman of Saks Global, came to Texas a few weeks ago, “he anticipated this store remaining open.”
Describing Baker as “a culinary star in high school, a retail genius and a real estate mogul,” Ridley said, “We are all here today, Mr. Baker, to help you solve your problem…Neiman Marcus was built with Texas money and Texas grit. Texans are faithful to a fault. We have a very long memory.”
He said that when Baker and Metrick were recently in Dallas, they flew back taking the portrait of Stanley Marcus, the legendary impresario of Neiman Marcus and son of the store’s founder, from the store with them. “We are inviting Mr. Baker and Mr. Metrick to meet with the ground lessors and return the portrait…We know that land use parcels and land leases in downtown are idiosyncratic and quirky.”
“Together we are working to ensure that Neiman Marcus remains downtown,” Ridley said.
“Let’s not lose this flagship because it means so much to our city and to the people who live here because of a land lease negotiation that has gone sideways,” said Linda McMahon, CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation. “We take Saks at its word that it wants to remain. We all want to help clear up this misunderstanding.” Neiman’s, she added, is a part of the soul of the city and is not just a brand.
McMahon said a letter is being sent to Saks leadership and property owners involved in the dispute, requesting a meeting. “We have over a month to get this back on track. I’m thrilled that Saks has every intention to keep our flagship.”
Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas has operated there for more than a century and long served as the headquarters for the luxury retailer. However, many executives on the Neiman’s team began working remotely during the pandemic and continued to do so in subsequent years, including some senior executives working in New York City.
While an important and historic location, the Dallas flagship has not been a top-volume producer for the Neiman Marcus luxury chain, though Saks did peg the impending closing of the Dallas flagship on a real estate issue, not its business performance. The Neiman’s unit in Northpark Center in Dallas, for example, generates much greater volume, and it’s where Saks Global plans a $100 million overhaul.
