Saks Fifth Avenue
Founded 1902
The firm was founded in 1902 when Andrew Saks, a street peddler from Philadelphia, opened Saks & Company, a men's clothing shop in Washington, D.C. Saks & Company soon expanded their operations opening stores in Richmond, Virginia; Indianapolis; and New York City.
For his New York store, Saks began actively courting the high-end retail market by stocking quality merchandise (including designer apparel and jewelry) and offering first-class service.
Andrew Saks died unexpectedly in 1912, his son Horace took over the business. Known originally as Saks & Company, the family added “Fifth Avenue” to the name when they moved the New York store from Herald Square to Fiftieth Street – Fifth Avenue in 1924. To finance this move, Horace Saks had entered into partnership with Bernard Gimbel, who came from another well-known family in department stores; Gimbel Bros.
The leadership of the Saks stores was given to Adam Long Gimbel, the 32-year-old grandson of the Gimbel’s founder, Adam Gimbel. Gimble began to cater to the new society around Park and Fifth avenues during the 1920s that was willing to pay well for things a cut above the ordinary. He bought the finest European merchandise and introduced exclusivity under the Saks label.
New stores catering to beachgoers were opened in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1926 and Southampton, New York in 1928. Stores were also opened in Chicago in 1936 and in Beverly Hills, California, in 1938. Gimbel offered ski merchandise and ski trips to Europe among his other innovations. Adam Gimbel, retired and subsequently died in 1969, and was succeeded by F. Raymond Johnson. Gimble and Johnson are considered to be responsible for establishing the reputation of Saks Fifth Avenue as it stands today. For years the expression “Very Saks Fifth Avenue” has been synonymous with fine fashion almost everywhere in the United States and Europe.
In 1973, BATUS Industries PLC acquired Saks. In 1990, the store was again sold to Investicorp S.A. In 1998, Saks merged with Profitt’s Inc., a retail conglomerate of stores which included more than thirty-two McRae stores and the company was renamed Saks Incorporated. The first Saks outlet store opened in Franklin Mills, Pennsylvania, under the name Clearinghouse and, in 1995, as more outlet stores were opened the name was changed to OFF 5th. Saks Incorporated sold off several of its business holdings in 2005, including the Profitt’s and McRae’s businesses to Belk, Inc., and their Northern Department Store Group to the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., in 2006.
Today, Saks Incorporated operates 53 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 55 Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th stores, and saks.com. Saks Fifth Avenue licensed stores are located in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Dubai, U.A.E.; Mexico City, Mexico; and Manama, Bahrain.
