Luxury-goods retailer Saks Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to close two Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Portland, Ore., and is considering closing others that aren’t profitable and have leases expiring.
Stephen Sadove, Saks’ chief executive, told investors the New York-based retailer expects to close “a few stores” this year and to focus on improving sales productivity at existing stores.
Nick LeMasters, general manager of Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center, said he doesn’t think the Saks there is in danger of closing “as far as I know. I haven’t spoken to anybody who would tell me otherwise.”
In addition to Saks, the mall is home to fellow luxury department stores Nieman Marcus and Nordstrom.
Sadove said the company thinks it can “get our gross margin up substantially from where it is . . . above the levels that we saw in 2007.”
Its gross margin, or profit on sales after deducting the cost of goods, was 38.6 percent for the fiscal year ended February 2008 and 36.6 percent for fiscal year 2009 ended Jan. 30.
Saks will close its men’s store in Portland in April and shut down the main store in July. About 100 employees will be affected by the move.
