Show Notes
Saks Global, the parent company of the historic luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move occurred a little more than a year after the company purchased Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman in a debt-fuelled takeover. The FT’s Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and the US investment editor Eric Platt walk through how that acquisition played a role in the bankruptcy and whether more highly leveraged companies will seek bankruptcy protection in 2026.
Clips from ABC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Warner Brothers
The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For further reading: Death of a dream: Saks’ crisis exposes luxury department store woes Leveraged luxury: fall of Saks Global to scorch US business stars Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Follow Sujeet Indap on X (@sindap), or on Bluesky (@sindap.bsky.social). Eric Platt is on X (@EricGPlatt), or on Bluesky (@ericgplatt.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Story of Money
The French Revolution was a bloody fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. But it was also a battle over money.
The French Revolution was a bloody fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. But it was also a battle over money.
The first world war was one of the deadliest conflicts the world has ever seen. And when the US entered the war in 1917, it faced a massive financial challenge: how to pay for its contribution? Enter Treasury Secretary William McAdoo who launches the groundbreaking Liberty Loan Programme and - alongside an unprecedented national propaganda campaign featuring silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin, Girl Scouts, even a captured German submarine in Central Park - encourages thousands of Americans to ‘buy a bond’ as part of their patriotic duty.
The US Treasury market - the world's largest government bond market - is worth about $32tn today, making it the largest pile of debt accumulated in history. But its roots lie in medieval Venice, a bloody military disaster and a leader who was forced to raise a loan to fund a war against the Byzantine Empire.
How do you tell if an economy is actually working? Most economics classes point to controlled inflation, steady growth, or low unemployment - but what if the level of financial fraud is the real hidden indicator?