The luxury department store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, less than two years after its parent company HBC acquired Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman for $2.6 billion. Financed by $2.2 billion in debt, the acquisition combined some of the biggest names in luxury retail under a newly formed group called Saks Global, but it put Saks under tremendous financial strain, a weight the company has tried to lift by selling off prized real estate properties to the highest bidder.

In December, it sold the land under Neiman Marcus’s Beverly Hills flagship store for an undisclosed amount. It’s also set to make a similar move with another Neiman Marcus flagship store in San Francisco.

Saks’ attempts to alleviate its debt load were futile. It missed a $100 million interest payment to bondholders in late December and has now secured $1.75 billion in debtor-in-possession financing from creditors to keep its business afloat during bankruptcy proceedings. Its assets and liabilities are estimated to be in the range of $1 billion to $10 ​billion, according to the filing.

In the wake of the upheaval, former Neiman Marcus Group CEO Geoffrey van Raemdonck stepped into the role of Saks Global CEO on Tuesday. He succeeds real estate mogul and Saks executive chairman Richard Baker, who held the role for less than two weeks after Marc Metrick departed on Jan. 2 following a 30-year tenure at the company. A key architect in the union of Saks and Neiman Marcus, Baker has exited the company entirely.

While Saks’ ill-fated acquisition may have pushed the storied retailer over the edge, it’s not entirely to blame for its troubles. Saks and the broader department store industry in the United States have been under pressure for decades as e-commerce ate into brick-and-mortar retail and indoor malls lost relevance. Reports of unpaid vendor bills surfaced as far back as 2023, and Saks currently owes hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to global investment bank TD Cowen, Saks and Neiman Marcus accounted for just 1% of total beauty retail market share combined in 2023, and their share is projected to remain flat through 2030. Comparatively, the market share of online platforms like Amazon and TikTok Shop is predicted to grow by 6% and 3% over the next seven years, respectively.

Despite their losses, department stores have been making investments to claw back beauty spending. Last year, Macy’s and Nordstrom unveiled refurbished beauty halls with increased square footage for new brands, fixtures and services. Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Dillard’s are arguably the brightest spots in the department store market and are poised for modest growth this year, while Kohl’s, Macy’s and J.C. Penney continue to tread water.

As Saks enters bankruptcy, we want to explore the implications for luxury beauty brands. For the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions related to indie beauty, we asked 10 retail consultants, analysts and investors the following questions: What does the implosion of luxury retail stalwarts Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman mean for the luxury beauty market? What could emerge or has already emerged to take their place? Or, are these retailers simply irreplaceable?