Are traditional department stores winning or losing?

The trouble looks very uncertain for Saks. What is its next move?

Saks’ new top seller program seeks to empower sales associates. Will this approach pay dividends?

In a major thrust to entice more luxury brands to sell on its platform, Amazon has introduced “Saks on Amazon.” Will this partnership help Amazon gain better access to major luxury and emerging designer labels?

Saks Fifth Avenue drew a huge outcry for canceling its renowned holiday light show at its Fifth Avenue flagship store after two decades. Did Saks make a mistake?

L.L.Bean announced the next phase of a major upgrade to its Freeport flagship location, which already ranks as the second-most-visited tourist destination in Maine. Is it more important for retailers to invest in flagships than regular stores?

The latest Saks Luxury Pulse survey showed the first increase in luxury spending plans since the survey began tracking the metric in May 2022. Has the overall luxury growth opportunity become larger due to social media and other factors?

As part of the agreement, all Inspirato members will be invited to apply for the SaksFirst Card to enter the luxury retailer’s rewards program.

Saks Off 5th has partnered with Rent The Runway to sell previously-worn and rented fashions via its website, becoming the first off-pricer to enter the resale marketplace. Does resale make sense for off-price retailers?

In hopes of appealing to younger luxury shoppers, Saks Off 5th has undergone a rebrand that includes a new tagline — “Where Fashion Takes Off” — and visual identity that embraces a more vibrant color palette. What do you think of Saks Off 5th‘s new branding around self-expression and its aim to be a bigger player in the mid-tier branded space?

Saks.com has launched an online shop focused on wellness as health consciousness rises amid the pandemic. Has the wellness opportunity for luxury department stores been amplified by the pandemic or was it always there?

Kohl’s is the latest retailer to be feeling the heat from an activist investor looking to spin off its e-commerce operations from the rest of its business. Does it make sense in the long-term for Kohl’s to split its digital and physical businesses or sell off real estate in a leaseback situation?

Saks has been building its livestreaming presence since the beginning of the year. Now, the luxury retailer is dressing it up for the holidays. Do you think Saks will drive significant holiday sales with its holiday-themed livestreaming events?

The lure of high valuation, standalone digital businesses is leading some retailers in a new strategic direction. Are retailers’ sales and profit objectives more likely to be achieved by separating physical and digital operations or by taking a unified approach?

Consumers have migrated to e-commerce at an unprecedented rate since the novel coronavirus pandemic began. One major luxury brand, however, is standing by the physical store as the future of retail. Do you agree with LVMH’s position that stores are the future of retail and that digital commerce is only a complement to the physical experience?

Hudson’s Bay, Lands’ End and United Natural Foods all recently launched online marketplaces. Saks.com, too, is exploring one. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks for niche retailers launching third-party marketplaces?

Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) is spinning off Saks Fifth Avenue’s online operations as a separate business in large part to take advantage of lofty valuations being fetched by fashion luxury platforms. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks in splitting Saks Fifth Avenue’s online and offline operations?

Marc Metrick, president and CEO of Saks, speaking yesterday during a session at the NRF Big Show’s virtual event, said the luxury department store retailer was fairly well-positioned to handle the novel coronavirus pandemic when it hit. Do you see Saks as being on the right track for success, if the chain’s actions match its CEO’s words?

Mudrick Capital Management, a hedge fund and creditor to Neiman Marcus, has sent a letter to the board asking it to explore a sale to or merger with Saks Fifth Avenue. Does a Neiman Marcus/Saks agreement make sense if it means one or both parties avoid reorganizing under bankruptcy protection?

The ability to have customers return merchandise, try on clothes in fitting rooms and even touch merchandise has been clouded by concerns over the transmission of COVID-19. How should retailers manage returns, fitting rooms and other product-related contamination risks?

“I think the strategy for Millennials is actually not to have any strategy for Millennials, because they can smell it,” said Laurent Claquin, president of Kering Americas, the major European designer brand group, at a recent event. Which traditional approaches should luxury retailers keep the same and what adjustments should they make to attract Millennials?

A buyer has emerged in Barneys’ bankruptcy proceedings with the intention of opening Barneys shops inside Saks. Do Barneys-themed in-store shops inside Saks stores make sense for Saks and Barneys?

Singles Day, essentially China’s equivalent of Black Friday, crushed previous sales records yesterday as the promotional event spread to more countries, including the U.S. Do you see Singles Day becoming a regular shopping event for U.S. retailers, or will its appeal be limited to Chinese living in the U.S.?

Saks Off 5th, Saks Fifth Avenue’s off-price concept, has launched a collection of five new fashion brands “designed in New York City and developed with a fresh aesthetic and fashion-conscious consumer in mind.” What do you think is behind the move by Saks Off 5th to launch The Next Generation collection?

Five Below, the discounter, recently announced plans to open its first store in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue between 44th and 45th streets near Bryant Park and the landlord community isn’t all happy about it. Should landlords be concerned that Five Below is opening on Fifth Avenue?

Many factors played into the demise of Bon-Ton Stores, but its turning point may have been when it acquired Saks’ Northern Department Store Group. But Macy’s made its own risky move that year when it bought May Department Stores. What lessons do you take from the merger of Macy’s and May versus Bon-Ton and Saks?

In May, Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship location in New York City opened a 16,000 square-feet concept shop that has been offering a wide range of fitness and meditation classes. Does it make sense to bring fitness and meditation classes to a retail store setting?

Saks Fifth Avenue has been trying to reinvigorate its appeal to high-end shoppers, even as department store traffic nationwide continues to wane. The chain’s latest move indicates that it could be looking to reduce its full reliance on the department store model in favor of category-based stores. Is opening up category-specific concepts like 10022-SHOE a smart move for Saks?

The combination of a slow economy and changing shopper priorities has some luxury retailers offering services meant to extend both the in-store and offsite experience and cater to the upscale tastes of their target clientele. Can luxury retailers bring shoppers back into stores with services like the ones that Ralph Lauren and Saks Fifth Avenue are offering?

What’s the best way to deliver the same level of in-store service to online customers? Saks has turned to in-store associates. How common will it become among customer service oriented retailers for in-store associates to assist online shoppers?

Personal shopping has moved into the 21st Century. In recent years, concepts such as Nordstrom’s Trunk Club, 1-800-Flowers, and “Saks at Your Service – Anytime, Anywhere,” have sought to raise the bar on execution. Do you expect to see more or less demand for personal shoppers, whether human or AI, in the future?

Hudson’s Bay Company announced last week that it will open “a new state-of-the-art, all-channel fulfillment center that will make use of robotic technology that’s three-times faster than the tech commonly used in e-commerce distribution centers. Do you see robotics as a competitive difference-maker in e-commerce fulfillment?

The luxury goods market in Canada is either crowded and competitive or wide-open for new entrants depending on whom you ask. Either way, Saks Fifth Avenue has decided the upside outweighs any potential downside with the opening today of its flagship store in Toronto. Do you think Saks Fifth Avenue will be successful in Canada?

Hudson’s Bay Company, which owns its namesake chain along with Saks and Lord & Taylor, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Gilt Groupe, one of the pioneers in the flash sales site business. What will HBC need to do to unlock the potential of the Gilt business?

Lord & Taylor is joining the likes of Kohl’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue with the launch of its own off-price format next month. Will the continuing proliferation of off-price concepts come back to bite the department stores that have launched them?

When we think of retailers that market products that appear in movies or television shows, toy companies tend to come to mind. But as people’s relationship with entertainment media has changed, so has the way product tie-ins work. Will the Saks Fifth Avenue “Empire” collection catch on with luxury shoppers and inspire more entertainment/luxury tie-ins from the retailer?

While movie tie-ins often include toys, Halloween costumes and video games, “Cinderella” appears to be a rare movie that extends its merchandising across a wide range of fashion categories. Is “Cinderella” a unique case or do you expect to see an increase in big movie tie-opportunities for retailers?

For some owners of big-name retail chains, the buildings in which the businesses reside are as important as the businesses themselves, and the most recent news in big retail real estate deals has raised more eyebrows than it has red flags. Could there be advantages to chains owning their own stores rather than renting in the new economy?

It was big news back in 2012 when Nordstrom opened one of its Rack stores “a crosswalk away” from its flagship in downtown Seattle. Today, others including Neiman Marcus and Saks are opening outlets within walking distance of their flagships in an effort to increase sales. Are department store chains making the right move or a mistake by opening outlets near flagship locations?

It’s fair to say that many retailers became more conservative in their approach to buying during the Great Recession. One such retailer, according to The Wall Street Journal, is Saks Fifth Avenue, but that appears to be changing now that Marigay McKee, the former chief merchant at Harrods, has taken over as the president of the chain. What is your view on Marigay McKee’s philosophical approach to buying?

Following its November acquisition by Hudson’s Bay Co., Saks plans to make its Off 5th outlet boutiques “a little more unkempt” to better connect with bargain hunters, according to a profile in The Wall Street Journal. Is Saks’ Off 5th business smart to follow Nordstrom Rack’s lead in this regard?

A growing number of retailers are looking to get real these days, some with models in ads sans retouching, others with mannequins more reflective of what their customers look like. Will more lifelike mannequins help drive sales in retail stores? Are some of the body details being included in the new mannequins crossing over into tastelessness?

A number of reasons have been given for off-price retailers to stay away from e-commerce, like losing the treasure hunt in stores, supply issues, and shipping costs. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities for off-price chains opening e-commerce sites?

Harrods, it could be argued, is the industry’s most iconic department store, attracting visitors from all over the globe. Yesterday, it was announced that Marigay McKee, Harrods’ chief merchant, would become president of Saks once Hudson’s Bay Co. completed the deal to acquire the chain. What will it take for Marigay McKee to be successful at Saks?

HBC and Saks announced this morning that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The deal means that three “iconic” North American department stores will operate under one corporate umbrella. What do you expect the acquisition of Saks by Hudson’s Bay will mean for the American department store chains?

It’s a deal that may never come to pass, but there are plenty of people who seem to think that Saks could do a lot worse than being acquired by Hudson’s Bay Co. Is Hudson’s Bay Company the right party to acquire Saks?

Amid reports that the owners of Neiman Marcus were exploring a possible initial public offering, then news that Saks Inc. had hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options, now comes another report that KKR is considering making a bid on Saks with the intention of seeking a merger with Neiman Marcus. Does a Neiman Marcus/Saks merger make sense or not?

Amid all of the talk of the Great Recession and the “new normal” comes an Associated Press piece saying that wealthy American parents are now their dressing toddlers as though being fashionable is somehow a requirement for their continued success. Do you see more retailers and designers looking to tap into the market for luxury goods for kids?

Typically when the topic of Facebook comes up in relation to retail, the discussion centers around its value as a marketing/customer engagement tool. Saks Fifth Avenue is exploring another opportunity on Facebook, and this time it’s all about talent acquisition. Do you think the “Careers at Saks” Facebook page will give the chain an advantage in recruiting talent?

A piece on the Tulsa World website seems intended to put employees of a local Saks Fifth Avenue store at ease. The CEO of the company, Stephen Sadove, had made a visit to the store and announced: “The store is very profitable, and we own the building. There isn’t any reason for us to leave.” How frequently should executives visit stores?