Saks Fifth Avenue At American Dream Will Close

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — This week, Saks Global said they will be closing eight Saks Fifth locations and one Neiman Marcus location across the country.

There is only one Saks Fifth Avenue store in New Jersey, and that is the Saks Fifth Avenue at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford.

An exact date was not given when the store would close, but it is expected to be the end of April, if not sooner. Triple Five, the owners of American Dream, created a luxury shopping wing in one section of the mall, and Saks was the anchor tenant there. However, the large space occupied by Saks was only sparsely stocked with clothes, and had even fewer shoppers.

A spokesman for American Dream said the mall is actively looking for a replacement.

"We are seeing significant interest," said Triple Five spokesman Gregg Schwartz.

Saks entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in January. While the American Dream location was the only full Saks Fifth Avenue, there are a number of Saks Off 5th locations across New Jersey, and those will also be closing. They are the Saks OFF 5th in Jersey Gardens mall in Elizabeth, Shrewsbury and Bridgewater Commons mall.

Here are the other Saks Fifth Avenue stores across the U.S. that will close:

• The Summit (Birmingham, AL)
• Polaris Fashion Place (Columbus, OH)
• Shops at Canal Place (New Orleans, LA)
• Bala Plaza (Philadelphia, PA)
• Biltmore Fashion Park (Phoenix, AZ)
• Stony Point Fashion Park (Richmond, VA)
• Utica Square (Tulsa, OK)
• The Neiman Marcus at Copley Place (Boston, MA) is also closing.

"We are initiating a series of actions to reinforce Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as the ultimate destinations for luxury with a seamless multi-channel shopping experience," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of Saks Global.

He said the company wants "to optimize its operations" and "make investments that enable long-term growth and value creation."

Saks Global owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. No Bergdorf Goodman store will be closing.