A storied department store chain is closing eight locations, one of which anchors a mixed-use project in suburban Philadelphia.
Eight Saks Fifth Avenue locations are closing, including one outside Philadelphia at Bala Plaza.
The Saks Fifth Avenue at 2 Bala Plaza in Bala Cynwyd is set to shutter, Saks Global announced Tuesday as part of its ongoing bankruptcy process.
It was part of a list of eight Saks Fifth Avenue closures — including in New Orleans, Phoenix and at the American Dream mall in New Jersey — and one Neiman Marcus in Boston.
The firm is “refining its store footprint to focus on profitable locations with the highest growth potential,” it said in a press release.
The freestanding suburban Philly store is in Bala Plaza, which a joint venture including FLD Group, the Adjmi family, A&H Acquisitions and MS Management bought in 2023 from Tishman Speyer for $185M.
The partnership had plans to redevelop the adjacent three-building office complex into a mixed-use destination.
Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month and received $1.75B from bondholders to keep its stores up and running through the restructuring. The company announced the closure of 57 Saks Off 5th locations just weeks later, which constituted nearly all of that brand’s footprint.
The conglomerate, which also includes Bergdorf Goodman, has struggled following its $2.7B acquisition of Neiman Marcus in 2024.
The Philadelphia region is no stranger to department store closures.
News of Macy’s departure from the Wanamaker Building in Center City last year warranted a press conference featuring several city officials.
The historic tower, which once housed the flagship location for the defunct Wanamaker’s department store chain, is seen as a cornerstone of the struggling Market East corridor the city is working to revitalize. It is undergoing a partial office-to-residential conversion.
One local chain has managed to weather the storm that continues to take its competitors.
Boscov’s, founded in Reading in 1914, has expanded its footprint in recent years. Its locations at the Exton Square Mall and Plymouth Meeting Mall are slated to stay open through proposed mixed-use redevelopments of the properties.
