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The parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, in partnership with Amazon, plans to buy rival department store chain Neiman Marcus in a deal valued at $2.65 billion.
Richard Baker, Chairman and CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company, Tell The New York Times said the company “does not plan to close any stores or digital businesses or reduce services in any way,” even though the chains operate in many of the same markets.
Part of the store’s appeal was the personal touch, Baker said. “Customers love going to the store, they love touching the product and spending time with personal shoppers,” he said.
Neiman Marcus’s sales force was also attractive. “People have forgotten how important people are,” he said. “When you’re selling luxury products, you need beautiful stores and salespeople that customers trust.”
The deal was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The two companies have been in talks for months and have explored the deal several times in recent years, the newspaper reported. The merger is likely to face regulatory scrutiny as the Federal Trade Commission takes a tougher look at mergers in fashion retail.
The combined company will have annual sales of about $10 billion, people familiar with the deal said.
Amazon will take a minority stake in the new company and provide technology and logistics expertise, the Wall Street Journal reported. The new company will be called Sachs Global. Salesforce is another minority shareholder, the newspaper added.
Hudson’s Bay Holdings, which owns Saks and Hudson’s Bay, is financing the deal with $2 billion raised from existing investors, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hudson’s Bay did not respond to a request for comment.
the shopping:Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology has been getting a lot of scrutiny. And it may soon be available everywhere.
The newspaper also reported that Mark Metrick, CEO of SAC’s e-commerce division, will run the combined companies.
Betty Lynn Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] Or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Subscribe to The Daily Money free newsletter, which will include consumer news every Friday,here.
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