Saks Off 5th is shutting down entire online operation but not before a huge clearance sale with 90% off
Saks Off 5th is shutting down its entire online operation - as fears grow for the future the luxury department store.
The discount arm of luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue has launched a massive clearance sale as its website prepares to close for good following the parent company’s bankruptcy.
The move comes after Saks Global - which also owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14.
Saks Off 5th is the off-price outlet division of the upscale chain, and sells discounted designer labels from there as well as items made specifically for outlets. It competes with other luxury stores, such as Nordstrom Rack and TJX Companies.
The business was split in two in 2021, separating its brick-and-mortar stores from its online operation.
As part of the bankruptcy process, a court has approved the shutdown and sale of Saks Off 5th’s online-only business.
As part of the shutdown, Saks Off 5th is offering steep discounts — with some items marked down as much as 90 percent. When all stock is sold, the website will shut down.
Importantly for shoppers, this does not mean everything Saks is disappearing - at least for now. The physical Saks Off 5th stores are part of the wider bankruptcy but are not included in this specific liquidation. Likewise, the Saks Fifth Avenue stores and its main website are not affected at this stage.
Saks Global - the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman - filed for bankruptcy protection on January 14
Saks Off 5th carries a variety of high-end designer brands as well as clearance items from the main Saks Fifth Avenue stores (pictured: models pose in holiday dresses from Saks Fifth Avenue)
Bargain hunters will be pleased to learn that, in light of the liquidation, Saks Off 5th is offering major sales online - with some items being discounted up to 90 percent
When Saks split its online and physical operations for Saks Off Fifth into separate companies five years ago, it did so hoping to attract tech talent, ride the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom and lure outside investors.
Saks Off 5th poured money into technology and marketing, but didn't make enough money to justify the costs.
While the parent company Saks Global still owns 80 percent of the Saks Off 5th online business, outside investors own the rest and together have put in about $200 million.
Saks Global has a lot of debt, which dragged down part of the Saks Off 5th business as well.
This month's bankruptcy filing came just over a year after a high-profile deal brought Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus together in a bid to build a luxury retail powerhouse.
'The debt-fueled acquisition of Neiman Marcus always made bankruptcy a likely destination for Saks Global. The only real surprise has been the speed of the collapse, which has come barely a year after the deal closed,' Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData, told the Daily Mail.
The filing raised questions about the future of the storied US fashion brands, although Saks said early Wednesday that its stores would remain open after securing $1.75 billion in financing and naming a new chief executive.
Saks said in November that it would shut nine of its roughly 100 Saks Off Fifth stores in January, but there are growing fears the final number of closures could be far higher.
Saks Off 5th is the off-price, discount outlet division of the upscale department store
The Radio City Rockettes are seen backstage ahead of the Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Light Show and Window Unveiling in New York City on November 24, 2025
Retailers often use Chapter 11 bankruptcy to exit expensive leases, and Saks is expected to close around half of its Off Fifth locations, along with several of its 41 main Saks stores and some of its 36 Neiman Marcus locations.
In a typical Chapter 11 process, store closures usually begin around 30 days after the filing.
'Bankruptcy will give Saks Global some breathing space and a chance to restructure,' Saunders added.
'However, it is vital that debt levels are brought down and that the company has room to make the investments needed to make up for more than a year of neglect. Relations with suppliers will also have to be reset. All of this will be a tall order that will take some years to correct.'
Long favored by wealthy and high-profile shoppers, Saks never fully rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic as online competition intensified and luxury brands increasingly shifted sales to their own stores.
Last year, the company struggled to pay suppliers, prompting some vendors to withhold inventory.
Former Neiman Marcus chief executive Geoffroy van Raemdonck will succeed Richard Baker, the architect of the acquisition strategy that left Saks Global heavily indebted.
Baker, the company's executive chairman, had assumed the CEO role only at the beginning of the year.
Shoppers are eager to know whether the bankruptcy filing will translate into deep discounts on luxury goods
Shoppers are eager to know whether the bankruptcy filing will translate into deep discounts on luxury clothes and accessories
Marc Metrick, the retailer's former CEO, is reportedly plotting his exit from the cash-strained chain
Court filings show Saks Global's assets and liabilities are each estimated at between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The original Saks Fifth Avenue store - founded in 1867 by retail pioneer Andrew Saks and known for its exclusive brands such as Chanel, Cucinelli, and Burberry, as well as its holiday light displays - has long been a fixture of American luxury retail.
Its flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York became a tourist attraction in its own right, famous for its elaborate holiday windows and front-row access to the world's biggest designers.
But in recent years, Saks has struggled to adapt to a luxury market transformed by internet shopping and brand-owned stores.
The crisis marks a dramatic turn for a retailer that only last year pitched a bold comeback plan built around its $2.7billion takeover of rival Neiman Marcus. But the deal hasn't paid off for either retailer. Since the merger, Saks closed a store in San Francisco and Neiman Marcus shuttered a flagship in Dallas.
Saks took on billions in debt to fund the deal, betting that combining two struggling luxury chains would turn their retail fortunes around.
Meanwhile, Saks Off Fifth, its discount chain rival to TK Maxx, said in November it planned to close nine stores by early 2026 as part of cost-cutting efforts.
