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The 40-day “go-shop” period is over, and The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) now owns Saks Fifth Avenue. After its purchase by HBC, Saks had 40 days to consider other takeover options.
HBC can now move forward with expanding Saks into Canada, as well as determining how it will maintain expanded operations. HBC paid a lot of money for Saks at a time when North American luxury spending appears to be on a slight downturn. Some experts we’ve spoken to say they’re concerned about HBC’s future, as it has assumed Saks’ substantial debts. Hopefully a real estate investment trust spinoff will allow for business to succeed, including much needed capital improvements to Canada’s Hudson’s Bay stores.
Despite the prestigious Saks Fifth Avenue name, we don’t consider Saks to be America’s top luxury department store. We’d give that title to Neiman Marcus. Neiman’s consistently earns more money per square foot than Saks, and has closed far fewer stores over the years. Saks has opened, then closed, a substantial number of stores since the 1990’s. Neiman Marcus has also secured more luxury concessions than Saks, including boutiques for Giorgio Armani Black Label, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tom Ford‘s men’s and women’s ready-to-wear.
We can now expect more concrete answers as to where Saks Fifth Avenue’s first Canadian locations will be. We’ll be watching closely and we’ll report any findings immediately, so keep reading.
[Hudson’s Bay Company website]
[Saks Fifth Avenue website]
