Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus closing several stores across Southern California

Southern California’s luxury shopping landscape is shrinking as three high-end department store locations prepare to shut their doors.

Two Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the region are slated to close, including locations at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and The Gardens on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

A Neiman Marcus store at Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park will also close, removing another luxury anchor from one of the San Fernando Valley’s busiest shopping centers.

The shutdowns are part of a nationwide restructuring effort by Saks Global, the luxury retail company that owns both department store chains. 

In a March 6 statement, the company said it plans to close 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three Neiman Marcus locations across the United States as it works to streamline operations following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing earlier this year.

“This strategic optimization is part of our ongoing transformation and rooted in our long-term view of our business,” Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive officer of Saks Global, said in the statement. “Our go-forward store portfolio will comprise the best performing and most desirable locations in markets with the highest concentration of luxury customers.”

The closures will affect two distinct California luxury markets. The Saks store at South Coast Plaza sits inside one of the nation’s highest-performing shopping centers and has long served affluent shoppers in Orange County. The Palm Desert store at The Gardens on El Paseo caters to wealthy residents and seasonal visitors in the Coachella Valley. 

Meanwhile, the Neiman Marcus store at Westfield Topanga has been a major department store anchor for the popular San Fernando Valley mall. 

Not all Saks locations in Southern California are affected by the restructuring.

The Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills is not included on the company’s closure list and is expected to remain open.

The changes highlight ongoing shifts in the luxury retail industry as companies cut back on physical stores while investing more heavily in online shopping and top-performing flagship locations.

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