The new CEO leading Saks Global through bankruptcy follows a management philosophy of ‘leading with love’

It’s an area where van Raemdonck certainly has experience: In 2018, he became CEO of Neiman Marcus Group (which included Bergdorf Goodman), then struggling under the weight of heavy debt from years of private equity ownership that ultimately led to bankruptcy. This time around, as CEO of Saks Global, which also piled on debt stemming from the $2.7 billion union of upscale department stores in 2024, he’ll have an even tougher job with multiple chains to fix. 

During his six years running Neiman Marcus, he succeeded in protecting its market share and returned it to profitability. In that job, he often called his management philosophy “leading with love,” a term that often won him snickers at conferences. 

What it really meant was making sure luxury was not merely transactional but more about a deeper connection with the consumer, whether inspiring their loyalty from highly personalized service or making them feel like they were at the forefront of fashion. (He famously landed in controversy in 2023 after he told Coins2Day that his plan was to focus on the well-heeled more than on those aspiring to be part of the elite.)

But you can’t woo customers if you have stale or low inventory, so winning AWOL customers, which should be van Raemdonck’s top priority, will have to begin with mending fences with beleaguered vendors. Between sluggish business and its cash crunch, Saks has in the last two years delayed payments to many vendors. Many of the suppliers, particularly smaller ones that could give Neiman and Saks tastemaking cachet, have stopped shipping to its stores. Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s wasted no time in swooping in and grabbing some of that market share.

Indeed, one of the reasons van Raemdonck got the job, on top of his experience heading Neiman, was his many years of management experience as a vendor, including years at Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton; he speaks their language.

His hands-on experience guiding a company through a bankruptcy reorganization will be a huge help. He knows how to talk to financiers, vendors and employees all at once. That’s a good place to start in the quest to get these historic brands back to health.—Phil Wahba

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]

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CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Claire Zillman and Lee Clifford.