steve sadove

Saks Fifth Avenue Closing Two Stores In July

Luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue has announced another store closing. In March, the brand announced the July 10th closing of its Portland, Oregon store. It will also be closing the Saks Fifth Avenue store located in the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, California by July 17, 2010. In a press release, Steve Sadove, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saks said that the closing is "consistent with our strategy of focusing our resources on our most productive stores."

Around 70 employees are employed in the San Diego store and will be offered transfer opportunities or will receive appropriate severance packages. Despite the closings Sadove remains bullish on luxury. I had the chance to hear Sadove participate in a panel discussion at the American Express Publishing Luxury Summit recently and it was clear that he is certain that luxury is regaining its footing and that the days of deep discounting and slowly moving merchandise are coming to a close, just not fast enough it seems to save these two stores.

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Saks Fifth Avenue Stays the Course on Luxury

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

The luxury market may be floundering but don't look for Saks Fifth Avenue to go down market any time soon. In an interview with MarketWatch, Saks chief executive Steve Sadove said that he is going forward with plans to renovate the company's stores, spending a projected $150 million. He is also committed to luxury brands, expanding the distribution of top-tier labels such as Chanel and Gucci, a brave move at a time when the brands that are desired most by aspirational consumers might be vulnerable to the biggest hits. Consumer confidence among luxury consumers is at an all-time historical low. Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumption Index has shown that more than two-thirds of those with an average income of $155,700 believe the economy is in trouble. Sadove, however, is looking beyond this year hoping that his strategy will pay off in the long run. You may find some particularly helpful salespeople in Saks too, part of Sadove's strategy is to have as much as 90% of the Saks sales staff working on commission, up from about 50% three or four years ago.

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Tags: consumers, luxury, saks fifth avenue, SaksFifthAvenue, shopping, steve sadove