Saks Fifth Avenue to shutter Canal Place location – wwltv.com
Saks Global is reportedly shutting down nine stores across the country because they haven’t been profitable.
NEW ORLEANS — Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans is set to close in April 2026, the company announced Tuesday in an email to customers. The closure is part of a bigger shake-up by Saks Global Enterprises, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, which is currently going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Canal Street Saks has operated since the early 1980s and was the only major retail store to reopen downtown after Hurricane Katrina, becoming a symbol of the city’s retail recovery. Located inside Canal Place, the store has long been considered a marquee retail anchor in downtown New Orleans.
Bloomberg reports that Saks Global is shutting down nine stores across the country—eight Saks Fifth Avenue locations and one Neiman Marcus in Boston—because these stores haven’t been profitable and are in smaller markets with limited growth. The company is asking a bankruptcy court for approval to move ahead with the closures and has already started closing some Saks OFF 5TH and Neiman Marcus Last Call stores.
Matt Wolfe, Chief Marketing Officer at Greater New Orleans Inc., said the store’s presence has been a significant part of the downtown shopping experience for generations.
Stores that share Canal Place with Saks say they’re worried the closure will mean less foot traffic, fewer jobs and reduced spending in the area. Chanel left Canal Place earlier this year, and Anthropologie moved to Lakeside in November.
As part of the changes, Saks is also closing most of its standalone Fifth Avenue Club personal styling suites and moving its Horchow home décor brand online. The goal is to focus on the most profitable stores and brands, cut down on debt, and shift more shopping to the web.
Saks emailed the following statement to WWL Louisiana:
“As part of Saks Global’s ongoing evaluation of its physical footprint, we have made the decision to close select Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus locations, including the Saks Fifth Avenue New Orleans location, based on a number of factors, including performance and lease economics.”
