Marc Metrick, the longtime Saks Fifth Avenue executive who oversaw Saks Global’s acquisition of the Neiman Marcus Group, is expected to exit the business, according to multiple sources close to the organization. His anticipated departure would come amid growing speculation that Saks Global, which has struggled to manage its debt since its merger with NMG was finalized late last year, could soon file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Metrick declined to comment, but a source close to Saks Global said he is currently still employed by the company.)

In recent weeks, Saks Global has sold off real estate assets, perhaps in an effort to service the interest payment on its $4.7 billion debt that is due at the end of the month. The company recently sold the land occupied by the Neiman Marcus building in Beverly Hills to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. According to my sources, selling the land, not the building, means that the new owner, Ben Ashkenazy, has effectively zero operational responsibility for the store. I am also told that there was another similar transaction on a San Francisco property.

Questions about Metrick’s future began to surface a few weeks ago after he missed a scheduled meeting with Neiman Marcus Group executives in Dallas. Over the past few weeks, multiple vendors have also told me that communications with Metrick, with whom some speak on a weekly basis, had ceased. A note to employees sent out on December 23 regarding news reports about a potential Chapter 11 filing came not from Metrick but from Saks Global chairman Richard Baker. As I recently reported, many in the industry took note when Metrick posted an end-of-year Instagram image of a wheelchair on fire. (A source close to Saks said on Tuesday that Metrick had accidentally reposted it.)

Metrick’s departure would follow the exit of former president and chief commercial officer Emily Essner, his deputy since the early days of the acquisition. Typically, when a restructuring occurs, a turnaround specialist is brought in to oversee the transition before hiring new executives with the relevant operational expertise. Of course, this is quite a unique situation: Saks Global has a complicated debt structure and multiple retail brands involved—Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman. And for many in the industry, it’s hard to imagine Saks in any form without Metrick. After all, he has worked for Baker for more than two decades, and it seemed like a fait accompli when he was appointed global C.E.O. of the group.

It could be a challenge to identify a replacement for Metrick with both turnaround experience and a sufficient knowledge of the multibrand retail sector, which has been in secular decline for decades. The department store model has been under continuous cultural attack since the rise of single-brand retail in the 1980s and then e-commerce in the 2000s. While there is still a place for Saks, Neiman, and Bergdorf, such retailers will need to operate on a much smaller scale—fewer locations, smaller footprints—and likely via a different business model, given that wholesale does not allow for the necessary cashflow to operate efficiently. In February, Metrick was portrayed as an industry villain after he sent a letter proposing a 90-day window to pay vendors for already shipped product. But there was some hard economic logic behind the plan.

It’s estimated that Saks vendors are currently owed between $500 million and $800 million. A potential restructuring would undoubtedly put multiple brands out of business, and push others further into debt. The first quarter of the year is always a cash-intensive period in the fashion industry: Pre-Fall 2026 orders get placed, which means that labels have payments due on fabrics. And there’s the costly endeavor of producing the February shows. Weeks ago, Hilldun, the factoring firm that provides financing for many of the brands that sell to Saks Global, stopped approving new vendor orders after the retailer missed a number of payments.

Sources close to Baker said that he promised there was a solution that did not involve restructuring as recently as a couple of weeks ago. But that option is unclear outside of improved cashflows or real estate sales or, perhaps, the emergence of a new investor. But it seems unlikely that Saks Global would be bailed out by Amazon or another large strategic investor, especially if the company’s assets are about to go on sale. I’m told that private equity was circling Bergdorf Goodman. (If a restructuring happens, the new owners would decide what becomes of each store.) Baker, the son of a strip mall developer whose ambition was to be America’s leading merchant of luxury goods, has plenty of experience with bankruptcies, including the liquidation of historic department store chain Hudson’s Bay in Canada earlier this year. Anyway, this story is hardly over. (Disclosure: Saks is suing Puck over our coverage of its debt management.)

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news.

You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with {{customer.email}}. To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.

Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 107 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10006