As Saks Global barreled toward bankruptcy court this month, its longtime landlord Simon Property Group moved to reclaim a couple of its stores.
In a request filed to the Houston federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case, Simon’s attorney, Jeri Leigh Miller of Sidley Austin, said the landlord terminated its lease with the company’s Neiman Marcus division in the Stanford Shopping Center as well as another lease Saks held at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.
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Miller asked the court to confirm that the leases have been terminated and that the automatic stay that went into place when the company filed for bankruptcy does not “prevent Simon from obtaining possession of the premises.”
Simon notified Saks Global on Jan. 7 that the retailer had failed to pay $7 million in rent and other changes on the two leases and then hand-delivered termination notices the following day — less than a week before the retailer filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 14.
“Under the unambiguous and clear terms of the letter agreement, the leases terminated effective on Jan. 8, 2026, and the debtors were required to vacate the leased premises no later than Jan. 18, 2026,” Miller argued for Simon.
According to the filing, Saks Global disputed the move, maintaining that some of the money owed had been paid and that a grace or cure period rendered the notices ineffective.
Miller, however, said there was no “right to cure” that applied to the leases.
If the court rules that the bankruptcy stay does apply to the leases and Simon is not able to reclaim the properties right away, Miller argued his client should be able to “pursue state law remedies.”
“Today, the debtors have no legal right to remain in the leased premises,” Miller said. “Even if the debtors remain as holdover tenants, such tenancy cannot last beyond the conclusion of these Chapter 11 cases.”
Simon has leased property to Saks since at least the early 1970s and developed a closer relationship with the retailer when it moved to buy competitor Neiman Marcus Group for a total of $2.7 billion just over a year ago.
The real estate giant put $100 million into the deal in exchange for Saks Global “preferred equity.” Amazon went even deeper, committing $475 million to the acquisition.
Now, with even the unsecured creditors in the case projected to get pennies on the dollar for what they’re owned, the equity is expected to be wiped out.
