Luxury retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus have suffered double-digit sales declines since their blockbuster merger last year — while downmarket rivals Bloomingdales and Nordstrom have seen sales surge, according to a report.
The $2.7 billion merger six months ago, which also included Bergdorf Goodman, created the largest luxury retailer in the world. But the new powerhouse, known as Saks Global, has struggled to squeeze growth out of the posh department stores during a global slowdown in luxury spending, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Saks Fifth Avenue sales fell 16% during the first quarter ended in April compared to a year ago, while Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman dropped 10%, according to Bloomberg Second Measure data, which looks at debit and credit card purchases.
June was even worse, with Saks’ year-over-year sales falling 28%, while Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman each plunged 26%, according to the report.
Bloomberg acknowledged that the declines could be exaggerated because its data focuses primarily on debit card spending, “which means that the sales slowdown could appear sharper than it really is,” Bloomberg said.
Meanwhile, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom each enjoyed year-over-year sales increases of more than 10% for the first quarter, according to the data.
Saks Global declined to comment on the Bloomberg data, but a spokesperson for the company said Nordstrom and Bloomingdales don’t belong in its uber luxury sandbox.
“To compare us to Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, it’s important to note that Saks Global is far more exposed to the high-end luxury brand matrix, which has been going through a challenging moment,” a Saks Global spokesperson told The Post.
Saks Global also pointed out that the early summer is typically the slowest period of the year for retail sales.
The merger, however, has failed to quell jittery vendors who have not been paid in full for their goods for more than a year – and have withheld inventory as a result.
It has also amplified the anxiety of investors about Saks Global’s ability to pay its bills.
At the end of May, Saks Global secured an additional $350 million in financing, quashing reports that it might not be able to make its first $120 million interest payment on the $2.2 billion in bonds that it sold to acquire Neiman Marcus.
It has identified an additional $100 million of savings, bringing the total to $600 million that it expects to save over the next five years, including layoffs which have already begun, the company said.
“Saks Global remains on target for the $600 million in annual synergies” executive chairman, Richard Baker told The Post.
Nevertheless, its challenges are significant, including from customers who may have defected to its competitors after a snafu with its returns process this year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mary Ross Gilbert.
“It’s just so much easier to shop elsewhere,” Ross Gilbert said.
Earlier this year, returns were taking longer to process after the company was hit by fraudsters who were returning items they never purchased from the company.
“We put controls in place that delayed the process, but that’s behind us now,” the spokesperson said.
Saks Global released its financial performance publicly for the first time since the December merger in May.
Revenues for the combined entity were down 10% to $7.3 billion, while profits were 130 basis points lower than the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $102 million, including $42 million contributed by Neiman Marcus in the six weeks after the transaction closed.
“We have made significant progress integrating our organizations…all of which will help us to drive improved sales performance in fiscal 2025,” Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick said in a statement at the time.
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