Saks Off 5th to exit German market

Premium outlet chain Saks Off 5th is set to leave the German market just two years after its launch. According to TextilWirtschaft, all eight stores, which sell premium fashion at discounted prices, are due to close in the summer. Karstadt Sports, the sport division of parent company Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, could move into the majority of the units, reported the magazine.

Many of Saks Off 5th’s stores were previously dedicated to sports, occupied by Kaufhof sister brand Sportarena, which has now closed down. The department store brands now belong to Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof following a merger with Karstadt. The company declined to respond to a request for comment.

Saks Off 5th operates stores in Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Bonn, Heidelberg, Cologne and Hannover, as well as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The European arm of Hudson's Bay Company's (HBC) off-price chain launched in Düsseldorf in June 2017, but failed to perform as expected, the report said.

However, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof will continue to offer a discount shopping destination. Karstadt has been running its Look&Viel concept which offers special deals within dedicated spaces in its department stores for many years.

Most employees at Saks Off 5th stores have been reportedly offered to continue to work at Karstadt Sport. But in Stuttgart, the store’s future is less clear, as a Karstadt Sport branch is located just a few hundreds metres away. Meanwhile in Dusseldorf, reports have suggested that KaDeWe Group might take over the former Saks Off 5th unit in Carsch Haus to open a new store, joining the flagship store in Berlin, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and the Oberpollinger in Munich. This would require extensive refurbishment.