By Alessandro Parodi, Elisa Anzolin and Tassilo Hummel
Jan 14 (Reuters) – French luxury brand Chanel and Gucci owner Kering top the list of unsecured creditors of bankrupt U.S. department store Saks Global, with claims of $136 million and $60 million respectively, court documents show.
Saks Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in one of the largest retail collapses in recent years, barely a year after a deal brought Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus under the same roof.
Saks Global owes about $3.4 billions to creditors, while claims by the top 30 unsecured creditors are worth a total of $712 million, bankruptcy filings show.
Those represent a who’s who of the fashion world.
Valentino-owner Mayhoola, Richemont, Zegna, LVMH, Brunello Cucinelli and Burberry are also among the top 30, alongside tech firms Meta and Alphabet’s Google, the filings show.
The credit levels of each brand could depend on how many of its selling points in Saks Global stores use a pure wholesale model, in which Saks Global buys the goods, or a concession model where brands own the products, an industry source said.
Saks Global has been grappling with inventory and debt management issues for months, leading to delays in payment to suppliers, a top-management reshuffle and expectations it would file for bankruptcy.
European luxury stocks, including most of the unsecured creditors, were largely stable on Wednesday.
Saks Global’s executive chairman and CEO Richard Baker, the architect of the acquisition strategy that saddled it with debt, stepped down and will be replaced by former CEO of Neiman Marcus department store chain Geoffroy van Raemdonck.
Brunello Cucinelli, which is owed about 21 million euros ($24.47 million), welcomed the appointment and said it had “great confidence in the future of Saks Global”.
While analysts point to structural issues undermining department stores, founder Brunello Cucinelli told Reuters last week they were still the “true custodians of the brand”.
Ermenegildo Zegna also hailed on Wednesday Saks Global as a “key strategic partner” for the luxury sector.
“We expect that, following these challenging moments and under the vision and leadership of its new management team, SAKS Global will emerge stronger and continue to be a core partner for the sector,” Zegna said in a statement.
Kering declined to comment.
Chanel, LVMH, Richemont, Burberry and Mayhoola did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
($1 = 0.8584 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, Alessandro Parodi, Tassilo Hummel and Helen Reid; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Alexander Smith)
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