US' Saks Fifth Avenue's e-commerce business now standalone entity

The retailer’s 40 store fleet will operate separately as an entity referred to as SFA, which remains wholly owned by HBC, the three entities said in a joint press release.

Under Metrick’s leadership, Saks will make strategic investments to evolve and expand its online experience. These investments will bolster Saks’ already well-established digital business, starting with strengthening its service model through elevated styling capabilities and data-driven personalisation. Ultimately, Saks will feature a hybrid retail and marketplace platform, expanding its assortment while maintaining a curated experience.

“Marc’s leadership of Saks Fifth Avenue over the past several years drove a total transformation of the brand and customer experience. His efforts, along with those of his expert management team, enabled the business to generate industry-leading top-line growth and impressive market penetration. With this, I am confident that he will bring this same innovative leadership to Saks as it embarks on its journey as a standalone ecommerce company,” said Richard Baker, HBC’s governor, executive chairman and CEO.

Saks Fifth Avenue will remain as the customer-facing name for both businesses. Saks and SFA will work in conjunction to continue delivering a seamless customer experience. Returns, exchanges and SaksFirst credit cards will continue to be accepted both online and in stores. The standalone e-commerce company will lead marketing and merchandising across both businesses, while the stores will fulfil the physical functions of Saks, such as buy online, pick up in-store, exchanges, returns and alterations. Saks will retain ownership and control of the Saks Fifth Avenue intellectual property, including the brand and visual identity, the release stated.

Sebastian Gunningham will be a part of Saks’ board of directors and serve as an advisor. Gunningham was previously a member of the executive team at Amazon and led its marketplace expansion, among other large technology and operational divisions at the company. He has also held executive roles at Apple and Oracle, along with other leadership roles at world-class enterprises, the release stated.

Furthermore, Larry Bruce has been appointed as the president of SFA and will report directly to Richard Baker. Bruce has been with Saks Fifth Avenue for nearly 20 years and has served for the past eight years as director of stores.

“This transaction reinforces HBC’s ability to unlock significant value within our company’s assets. We are delighted to partner with Insight Partners, a firm globally recognised for its ability to scale Internet, software, and e-commerce leaders, to unleash Saks’ full potential as the preeminent luxury e-commerce platform,” Baker said.

“We look forward to partnering with Marc and the rest of his management team as they continue to expand their global customer base and become the defining company in luxury e-commerce,” Insight Partners’ managing director Deven Parekh added.

Rhone Capital, a significant shareholder of HBC, was actively involved in the transaction, the press release stated.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SF)