NEW YORK, June 27, 2026, 09:02 (EDT)
- Exemplar Luxury Group, which used to be Saks Global, came out of Chapter 11 with its debt cut by about 75%. The company has $500 million in exit financing and now operates 49 full-line stores.
- Saks Global is aiming for $9 billion in gross merchandise value by 2030. That breaks down to around $184 million per current full-line store, if web, outlet, and remote sales are excluded.
- Suppliers Kering SA EPA:KER, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE EPA:MC and Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A. BIT:BC sell to the chains, so the investor read-through is with them.
Exemplar Luxury Group, which used to be called Saks Global, finished its bankruptcy process on Friday. The company now has fewer stores and a new name. Suppliers are facing a new challenge: Exemplar, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, is looking to reach a $9 billion sales target using just 49 luxury stores.
Saks Global said it wrapped up restructuring under new owners, slashing debt by nearly 75%. The company said it now has enough liquidity and support from capital partners. According to ABC News, which cited the Associated Press, Saks Global also secured $500 million in additional financing.
Saks loses physical ground after bankruptcy. The retailer used to run 33 Saks locations, 36 Neiman Marcus stores, one Bergdorf Goodman, and about 70 Saks Off 5th outlets before filing. Now it’s down to 15 Saks Fifth Avenue sites, 33 Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and 12 outlet stores, according to ABC News.
The total number of full-line stores has dropped 30% from the 70 luxury sites Saks Global listed in January. Saks Fifth Avenue saw its number shrink to 15 from 33. Neiman Marcus is now at 33 stores, down from 36.
Saks Global hasn’t pulled back its own target. On June 5, the company said it is still aiming for $9 billion in total gross merchandise value and double-digit adjusted EBITDA by fiscal 2030, focused on selling at full price.
Exemplar’s $9 billion target works out to about $184 million for each full-line store, if you do a straight average. That number isn’t just for stores; it also covers e-commerce, remote, and outlet sales. The math points to a big lift in productivity and inventory discipline for the plan to add up.
Exemplar is set to purchase over $3 billion in goods at cost every year, CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck told WWD. The buying covers Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. With 49 full-line stores, that works out to about $61 million of merchandise cost per store, not including web, outlet or remote sales.
Saks’ bankruptcy matters for listed luxury groups because it was a vendor risk as well as a retail problem. Reuters said Saks filed in January after running into cash problems, inventory trouble and tough supplier ties with Chanel, LVMH and Kering. At filing, Saks carried $3.4 billion in debt and owed over $337 million to suppliers such as Chanel and Kering, according to Reuters.
Van Raemdonck told the Associated Press Friday was “a brand new day for the organization.” He said Exemplar has over 1,500 sales associates who each sold more than $1 million in goods, pointing to top-client selling as the core of the turnaround, not wider traffic. ABC News
Saks is giving big board spots to its restructuring supporters. The company said Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital, key players during the case, will each get two seats on the seven-member board.
Brunello Cucinelli gives a look at why vendor risk matters. The Italian luxury firm said in February that Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman made up 7% to 8% of sales in recent years. Executive Chairman Brunello Cucinelli told analysts, “We’ve never lost a dollar with them,” and said the company restarted normal shipments and payments at the end of January. Reuters
Van Raemdonck said in the company’s statement that Exemplar is sticking to its business plan and spending on customer experience. CFO Brandy Richardson said earlier this month that the retailer had “substantial cost savings” from cuts to its stores, operations and organizational structure. Saks Global
