British brands lose hope in Saks Global repayments following bankruptcy

Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy on Wednesday (14 January) after months of speculation and just a year after it acquired rival chains Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

One owner of a British brand stocked by both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus questioned why Saks Global was given the green light to acquire both department store chains considering it “couldn’t even pay its own suppliers” – the business told Drapers it has been awaiting payment for invoices from Saks Fifth Avenue since 2023.

“Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman [before being acquired by Saks Global] were paying their bills on time, they were great, they were growing our business.

“How is that allowed [the acquisition of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman] that a company that cannot pay its own bills is able to buy another company that is performing really well?” he questioned.

Following the announcement of a payment plan in February 2025, British brands were told that Saks Global was due to start repayments of around 10% of the amount owed in 12-monthly instalments, and going forward new orders would be paid between 90 and 120 days after receipt of inventory.

The owner of one brand told Drapers that despite the first payment being due in July [2025], he started to receive monthly payments of around 10% of the total he was owed between August and November. Saks Global did not honour the payment plan in December.

He added that the payments in “dribs and drabs” gave him “confidence” in the lead-up to Christmas, however further payments “have not been honoured”.

“Of the hundreds of thousands we are owed, we will probably get 10% of it back in the next five years if we are lucky now.”

The executive of another British brand told Drapers it launched legal proceedings for “small claims” six weeks prior to the group filing for bankruptcy: “I had a feeling it [the bankruptcy] would happen.”

He told Drapers that on 14 January his business received email communication from Saks Global “reassuring us that everything will be okay”.

“I doubt we will see our money,” he said, which is understood to be tens of thousands of pounds.

The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) director of international affairs Paul Alger said it is “very bad news” for businesses owed money for products delivered in good faith.

He added that the future of British businesses working with Saks Global is up in the air, and the UKFT is seeking support from UK government on the situation.

“At the show [Pitti Uomo, taking place in Florence, Italy, from 13-16 January] there has been talk about the Saks team being at the show. On the one hand the buyers are not responsible for the mismanagement which has lead to this unfortunate development. On the other hand there is a lot of anger in the industry that nobody seems to be held responsible for the decisions which led to this awful situation,” Alger said.

“Looking into the future, most friends are keen to be able to work with Saks Global while they sort out the mess and start to work out which parts of the business will survive. We are assuming that there will be some spinoffs and sales and that some resemblance of the business will continue as long as companies can find confirmed ways of payment when dealing with Saks Global in the future.

“But we are also talking to the UK government to see whether there is any support for UK exporters from UK Export Finance. If British businesses cannot get credit insurance on their ongoing work with Saks Global, they, like the Italians and others are likely to be unwilling to supply them with goods moving forward – once bitten twice shy.”

Drapers has reached out to Saks Global for comment.

This comes after Drapers first revealed that a number of small and medium-sized British brands stocked by Saks Global’s US department stores were grappling with uncertainty surrounding delayed payments in October last year.

According to court documents in Texas, where Saks Global flied for bankruptcy, top creditors include Chanel and Gucci owner Kering, which are reportedly owed $136m (£101.6m) and $60m (£44.8m) respectively.