The parent company of department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue has agreed to buy luxury retailer Neiman Marcus in a $2.6bn deal. The deal, which had been rumored ever since Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy protection during the Covid-19 pandemic, is part of Hudson’s Bay Company’s plan to build a luxury department store that will become the dominant player in the industry.
The deal was reportedly sealed with a little help help from Amazon , which is taking a minority stake in the newly-formed group Saks Global. Salesforce is also a minority shareholder and is set to assist with the adoption of artificial intelligence. Saks already does business with both tech companies.
“Customers love to go to a store,” Richard Baker, the chief executive and chairman of HBC, told The New York Times. “They love to touch a product and spend time with their personal shoppers.” He added that the company is “not planning on closing any stores or digital businesses or reducing services in any way.
” Retail conglomerate HBC, which also owns the Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay, bought the American chain in 2013 — one year after HBC also acquired Lord & Taylor. The conglomerate is financing the acquisition with $2bn it has raised from existing investors, while affiliates of the investment firm Apollo Global Management are providing $1.5bn in debt.
The deal means the new group’s only real rivals in the US will now be Macy’s, which also includes Bloomingdale’s, an.
