Australian brands have begun submitting claims for money owed following the collapse of American department store group Saks Global into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy this month.
Within the hundreds of millions of dollars claimed to be owed to over 250 creditors, Australian-born brands Maison de Sabre, Rebecca Vallance and the US-arm of Australian owned brand Naked Wolfe have so far submitted claims, with more brands expected to lodge in the coming days and weeks.
Maison de Sabre is reportedly owed $550,731.02 and Rebecca Vallance has made a claim for $174,479. Naked Wolfe, meanwhile, claims it is owed $292,297.10.
Saks Global – which manages Saks 5th Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman – stocks 44 Australian brands across its department store portfolio.
Notable Australian fashion labels sold through these department stores include Zimmermann, Scanlan Theodore, Aje, Camilla, Bec & Bridge, Rebecca Vallance, SIR., Acler, Alémais and Ksubi, alongside a long tail of emerging and contemporary brands.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Luxury resortwear brand Camilla is owed money, which is believed to be in the millions. Designer label Aje is also believed to be owed money, but did not confirm how much, and Acler is currently assessing to submit a claim.
Ragtrader has reached out to a few brands for comment.
According to court documents, Saks Global expects to continue trading through the restructuring process and will pay for goods shipped after the filing. However, suppliers with outstanding invoices issued before the Chapter 11 filing now sit behind secured lenders and financiers in the repayment queue, with no certainty on how much they will ultimately recover.
Court filings from the Texas bankruptcy proceedings show that the retailer’s largest unsecured creditors include some of the most powerful groups in global luxury.
Chanel Limited is owed just over $136 million, while Kering, owner of Gucci and Balenciaga, is due around $60 million. Capri Holdings, which owns Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, is owed $33.3 million, and Mayhoola, the majority owner of Valentino, is due $33.2 million. Richemont, owner of Cartier, is owed about $30 million, with Zegna and LVMH each owed roughly $26 million. Christian Louboutin is due around $21.5 million, Estée Lauder about $16 million, David Yurman $11.4 million and Giorgio Armani $10.7 million, with Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana each owed just under $10 million.
The creditor list also includes major technology companies, reflecting Saks Global’s reliance on digital infrastructure and advertising, with Meta Platforms owed about $12 million and Google around $9.6 million.