Retail Therapy on Substack

Retail Therapy on Substack

The Department Store Is Dying. I Have the Gift Card to Prove It.

What the department store bankruptcy numbers don't tell you — and what we lose when the stores that knew us close.

Rani Monson's avatar
Rani Monson
Jun 16, 2026
∙ Paid
What was supposed to be a coming-together of equals turned into a year-long financial downturn.
The $2.7 billion aftermath of the Neiman Marcus & Saks Fifth Avenue merger.

June 26 update: Saks Global — the merged company of Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue — “finished” its bankruptcy. It has renamed itself Exemplar Luxury Group.

I had a $1,600 gift card for Neiman Marcus after I sold two Gucci purses to FASHIONPHILE. My plan was to buy a new bag…

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