Luxury Brands Are Making a Big Bet on Saks. Will It Come Back to Haunt Them?

If Saks Global files for bankruptcy in the coming days, the hundreds of brands that ship merchandise to Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores will be at the back of the list of creditors.

They will likely receive partial payments on what they’re owed, at best. And in a worst-case scenario, if the retailer can’t reach a deal with creditors, it may close its stores and liquidate its inventory, much like Barneys in 2019 and Matches Fashion in 2024. In both cases, brands that had too much of their inventory and future sales tied up in those retailers took a serious financial hit. Some went under.

Hundreds of brands, ranging from tiny independent designers to European luxury behemoths, are thinking through their relationship with Saks as the clock ticks down. Many had already reduced or halted shipments, fed up with late and missing payments over the years. Some vendors have sued Saks over unpaid bills and unreturned merchandise.

But a number of labels that spoke with The Business of Fashion said they are preparing to ship out their spring collections in the coming weeks. While aware of the risks, they are gambling that Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman will emerge from bankruptcy in a stronger financial position.

Some have already produced spring inventory earmarked for Saks, while others said they simply cannot afford to walk away from the biggest pure luxury retailer in the US. There is a playbook for this sort of situation — brands can reroute stock to other wholesalers, or off-price channels as a last resort — but the scale of Saks’ business makes these calculations unusually consequential.

“We haven’t seen a scenario in American retail with this much impact, that’s come to this point of uncertainty,” said retail consultant Robert Burke, a former executive at Bergdorf Goodman.

Hildun, the financier behind about 140 brands stocked at Saks Global stores, urged its clients to suspend shipments late last year, and has suggested they hold off on any decisions regarding spring merchandise.

“All I can suggest now is that you wait to make decisions regarding your future orders from Saks Global, as well as your current inventory, for another week to ten days, if you can,” Hildun founder Gary Wassner wrote in an email to clients on Jan. 6. “I am aware that this will impact your cash flow, and I am also aware that the later your product hits the selling floors, the less likely it will achieve a full price margin. But no other options will preserve your margins now.”

The hope is that Saks will emerge from bankruptcy stronger and better capitalised, allowing it to not only pay bills on time, but to invest in stores and marketing to grow sales. Even in this best-case scenario, few expect to recover much of what they are already owed.

“At this point, we’ll see cents on the dollar,” said Amir Taghi, whose namesake brand was picked up by Neiman Marcus for spring 2025 and is awaiting payment on fall merchandise. “But we would love to continue working with them. They’re a pillar in US retail.”

The decision to work with Saks is easier for some brands than others. Wassner said he has clients who rely on the company for 40 percent or more of their sales, and would struggle to move on from the retailer.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, major European brands typically operate concessions in American department stores, meaning they rent space but handle their own inventory, giving them at least partial immunity to Saks’ payment problems.

Saks has also prioritised payment to some top selling independent labels. Designer Tanya Taylor said the retailer has been prompt on paying her purchase orders, and business at both Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus grew double-digits in 2025.

“We’re just going to wait and see what happens when they find financial stability,” she said.“We want to be a good partner, we want to ship spring and we know it will sell.”

Others fall in between, saying they’re sticking with Saks for now, despite a history of late or missing payments and the expectation of more pain ahead. But if the situation gets truly dire, they could get by without the retailer.

“I would most likely continue my partnership, however, as a business I’m fortunate I’m not relying wholly on wholesale,” said one brand founder with a handful of stores.

Behind all of these calculations are memories of past bankruptcies, particularly Matches’, where the online retailer’s sudden closure caught many brands by surprise.

“I’m very cautious now with shipping goods to wholesale accounts after what happened with the Matches bankruptcy,” said Emme Parsons, whose footwear label did not recover any payment or remaining products after the retailer shuttered. Since last year, she has reduced shipments to Bergdorf Goodman, her only Saks Global stockist, and invested in direct-to-consumer distribution.

Still, Parson remains a believer in multibrand retail. Whatever happens with Saks Global in the coming weeks, the shakeup marks an opportunity for reinvention — and for new players to swoop in.

“Retail is in a weird spot right now,” she said. “People are hungry for discovery, but North America doesn’t have that many good options.”