Chanel, Gucci and Capri Holdings: The Brands Topping Saks’ Creditor List

After months of speculation, Saks Global — the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

The filing reveals a troubling snapshot of the company’s unpaid bills to the fashion world, with Chanel as the largest unsecured creditor with roughly $136 million in claims, followed by Gucci-owner Kering at around $60 million and LVMH at about $26 million.

From there, the ledger reads as a who’s-who of luxury, with names including Capri Holdings, Mayhoola and Richemont also on the roster of creditors.

That list of the 30 top creditors, however, barely scratches the surface of those waiting for payment: Saks estimates it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors, meaning the vast majority of suppliers — many smaller and independent — are also in line for payments they may never see.

Although they are owed the most significant sums, the Chanels and Guccis of the world will be just fine, said Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute. In a typical Chapter 11 proceeding, the retailer and the bankruptcy court will agree to a list of “critical vendors,” which will be granted priority in payment because they are deemed essential for Saks’ future operations.

“Chanel will survive and thrive, and probably be paid 100 cents on the dollar,” Scafidi added. “It’s the smaller vendors, the independent labels, that are owed less but for the size of their business significant amounts, that will hurt because they may not be named critical vendors and if not, they may lose a great deal of what they’re already owed.”

Already, Saks’ cash issues have impacted the livelihoods of a number of their brand partners and other vendors. Emaleigh Richardson, 19, is one of them. For a year and half, the Dallas-based model has made a living posing for product listings on Bergdorf Goodman’s website. But she has not been paid since September. Richardson and her agent, Kim Dawson Agency, are owed $46,000.

“It’s a tough situation because I’ve not been able to pay for rent and food,” Richardson said.

Handbag label Rafe New York has been stocked at Neiman Marcus for more than a decade; the retailer accounts for more than half of its annual sales, said founder Rafè Totengco. For the last six months, he has not received any payment on orders, he told BoF Wednesday. “I don’t know if I will recoup anything to be honest,” he said. “That’s been difficult to manage as far as cash flow is concerned … It affects how I market, how I order and how I produce.

For those that are able to take a hit on their outstanding debt by Saks for now, the good news is that they can expect more reliable operations in a bankruptcy proceeding and beyond. Saks has secured $1.75 billion in restructuring financing, and expect to use some of the capital to serve their vendors.

A number of brands BoF spoke to ahead of Saks’ bankruptcy last week said they anticipate continuing to ship to the retailer for the spring season and beyond.

“In my opinion, Chapter 11 is the best outcome under the dire circumstances the company was in,” Gary Wassner, founder of financial firm Hildun that offers credit to brands stocked at Saks, said in a statement. “This bankruptcy will allow the company to exit unprofitable leases and terminate contracts that are no longer serving their best financial interests.”

Wassner, which works with more than 140 brands that currently sell to Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, pointed to their new chief executive Geoffroy van Raemdonck as a sign that the retailer is headed in the right direction. Alongside Raemdonck, longtime Neiman Marcus merchants Darcy Penick and Lana Torodovich have been named as executives at Saks Global as part of its bankruptcy announcement Wednesday.

For brands looking to recoup their debts, it’s still possible, albeit less likely, to be considered a critical vendor. Volume isn’t necessarily a prerequisite, according to Sacfidi. This means that every brand that currently ships to Saks can petition the retailer to be named essential, which would increase their chances of getting paid what they’re already owed by Saks.

“It’s not the size of the vendor but rather how important it is to Saks as an ongoing concern,” said Scafidi. “Saks needs to have well-known, globally recognised brands but it also needs to have an interesting mix of smaller luxury brands, so even a small brand could be a critical vendor for Saks if the brand can make the argument for it, and if Saks can make the right argument to the court.”

Other means of recourse include petitioning to receive merchandise recently shipped to Saks — the “rule of reclamation” in bankruptcy, she added. Under this policy, brands now have 20 days to ask Saks to return products that were delivered within 45 days of the filing.

But ultimately, Saks’ vendor community faces considerable uncertainty in the coming months.

“There will be brands that will cut their losses and take pennies on the dollar and focus their attention elsewhere, whether that’s other retailers or their direct businesses,” Scafidi said.

Editor’s note: This article was amended on Jan. 15, 2026. A previous version identified Rosen-X as an obscure Shanghai-based brand. In the Chapter 11 filing, Rosen-X is registered to Husein Jafferjee, the chief operating officer of Alice + Olivia.