By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press

The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue is seeking bankruptcy protection, buffeted by rising competition and the massive debt it took on to buy its rival in the luxury sector, Neiman Marcus, just over a year ago.

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Saks Global has secured roughly $1.75 billion in financing, the New York company said as filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in the Southern District of Texas.

The private company said that stores will remain open as it restructures company debt, meaning that it will honor the programs it has for customers. Suppliers and employees will be paid, Saks said.

“This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead presents a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position it for the future,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, who took over for CEO and Executive Chairman Richard Baker this week. Baker had assumed control after the company’s CEO Marc Metrick, stepped down earlier this month.

When Saks said that it would buy Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion in the summer of 2024, the goal was to create a powerhouse in a luxury sector that had grown more fragmented. Online sellers were siphoning customers and big name brands had begun to sell goods from their own stores.

But the tie-up with Nieman Marcus only worsened Saks’ debt situation as luxury sales weakened.

Global sales of luxury goods are expected to contract for the second straight year in 2026 as consumers anxious about the global economy pare back their spending, according to a study by Bain & Co. consultancy released in November.

Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s oldest company, began liquidating all but six of its stores in March 2025.

The upscale department store landscape has volatile in recent years.

Neiman Marcus entered bankruptcy protection for about four months in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic spread. The privately held department store chain was forced to close its stores for several months during the pandemic like other competitors such as Lord & Taylor.

Lord & Taylor sought bankruptcy protection in August of that year, then said it would close all of its stores and operate as an online retailer only.

The century-old department store Nordstrom agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal last year.

Sales at the long-suffering Macy’s have begun to improve under new CEO Tony Spring, who has shuttered unprofitable stores and improved service. He’s also trying to attract the same luxury shoppers who power sales at Bloomingdale’s and upscale beauty retailer Bluemercury, which are both owned by Macy’s.

There is concern among vendors about Saks and how things will move forward.

“They’re very nervous, very concerned, very worried about spring deliveries for merchandise that they’ve already produced,” said Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun Corp., which ensures suppliers get paid for products shipped to retailers. “They weren’t able to complete deliveries on what they had produced for the fourth quarter of (20)25, so they’re sitting with that inventory.”

Wassner said Saks Global accounted for 40% to 50% of the business of some of his clients. He said that he told his clients to stop shipping to Saks last month given the uncertainty.

Saks said that it has financing commitments of $1.5 billion from some of its creditors and another $240 million in “incremental liquidity” from its lenders.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers increased their spending in November from October as holiday shopping kicked into full gear.

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Retail sales increased a better-than-expected 0.6% in November, following a revised 0.1% decline October, according to the Commerce Department. The report was delayed more than a month because of the 43-day government shutdown.

Retail sales rose 0.1% increase in September, but jumped 0.6% in July and August and 1% in June.

The federal government is gradually catching up on economic reports that were postponed by the shutdown.

Sales at clothing and accessories stores rose 0.9%, while online businesses had a 0.4% increase. Business at sporting goods and hobby stores was up 1.9%.

The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spending and doesn’t include many services, including travel and hotel lodges. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered an uptick of 0.6%.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he expects Republican President Donald Trump to try to interfere with the midterm elections, and he says raids by immigration agents in major cities are creating a sense of chaos that voters will reject in November.

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The comments were part of a wide-ranging, 20-minute Associated Press telephone interview with the New York Democrat, who argued former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola’s entry into the Senate race gives his party a path to the majority.

Schumer said that economic concerns have begun to cement in the minds of voters and that Democrats have plans to build their campaign around the costs, chaos and corruption they attribute to the Trump administration.

The White House has called such Democratic statements “fearmongering” to score political points.

This is an edited transcript of the interview.

Expecting Trump interference

Q: Some are predicting Trump will try to prevent an open and fair midterm election and would be expected to dispute the results. Do you share those concerns?

A: We share them, and we already have teams of both senators and lawyers looking at every way that Trump could try to screw things up, and we’re fighting against it. We already have a team to make sure that they count the votes fairly. And, remember, still, a lot of the election mechanisms are done by the states. And even in red states, there’s resistance to Trump interfering.

Trump will do whatever it takes, and he has no honor and no credibility and no respect for law. But, we are prepared for it, and we believe we will succeed.

Influence of ICE raids on election

Q: What impact do you think the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are having on the midterms early on?

A: People don’t like chaos. They see that cities and mayors who were perfectly calm and safe are now undergoing all of this chaos. And, you know, as I said, cost is number one. But it’s costs, corruption and chaos. The people don’t like it. And Trump, at the same time he’s saying he wants to protect the protesters in Iran, he is going after protesters and other innocent civilians in Minneapolis. Makes no sense to people.

Trump and the economy

Q: Does it seem to you like economic factors that are dissatisfying to a lot of the voting public are durable in this election year?

A: Absolutely. The number one thing that bothers American families is they can’t pay all the bills.

The costs is the number one issue. The cost of living, affordability, call it what you will. But it’s the number one issue, and now they realize that Trump is screwing them up on all of this.

On health care, with not extending the ACA tax credits, on energy, by getting rid of clean energy, wind and solar, raising their electric bills with tariffs, which is making the price of everything go up. So, people now realize that Trump is hurting them.

We are going to focus on five issues in terms of lowering people’s costs. They are health care, housing, tariffs — you know, costs of goods — food prices, because of food monopolies, and child care.

Trump and the Republicans are in a bubble, and they don’t understand it. They are ignoring it, and that’s why things keep getting better and better for us.

Midterm congressional environment

Q: If we are looking at, in the House, 25 to 30 seats changing hands, is there a direct correlation to what can happen in the Senate?

A: Look, at the beginning of (last) year, people said, “Well, there’s a chance to win the House and no chance to win the Senate.” But because of the issues that I’ve talked about and because the House and Senate have been largely in sync on those issues and it’s resonating with the American people how we’re on their side, I think that the difference between the likelihood of winning the House and the likelihood of winning the Senate has greatly decreased.

Q: Yet at this very moment, at the beginning of the midterm year, would you agree that Democrats have a narrow path back to the Senate majority?

A: I say it is a much wider path than the skeptics think, and a much wider path than it was three months ago and certainly a year ago. And it keeps getting better and better, and we think we have a really good chance of winning back the Senate.

Younger, non-white Trump voters

Q: Younger and non-white voters drifted toward Trump in the last election, as you know. What is your plan, and what will it take for Democrats to win them over?

A: The cost issue is really having an effect already. Look at the elections of 2025. Look at how (Democrat Abigail) Spanberger won by 15 points in Virginia and (Democrat Mikie) Sherrill won by 13 points (in 2025 governor’s races). But it wasn’t just those two states. We won elections in Georgia. We won elections across the country. And that is because voters, young and old, poor and middle class, don’t think Trump was serving them well. So, there’s been a whole turnaround about Trump.

And in large part, we helped make it happen by focusing on costs.

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The developer of a major offshore wind project to serve New York is set to go before a federal judge Wednesday, hoping to convince him to lift a Trump administration order they say could mean the death of a project that’s 60% complete.

The Empire Wind project is designed to power more than 500,000 homes. Norwegian company Equinor said it will likely have to kill the project if construction can’t resume soon due to the availability of specialized vessels and heavy financial losses.

FILE – A sign for the company Equinor is displayed on Oct. 28, 2020, in Fornebu, Norway. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)

The case is being heard by District Judge Carl J. Nichols, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

Empire Wind is one of five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast that the administration froze days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states have sued seeking to block the order. Equinor’s hearing is the second of three hearings for these legal challenges this week; on Monday, a judge ruled that a project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut could resume.

Trump has targeted offshore wind from his first days back in the White House, most recently calling wind farms “losers” that lose money, destroy the landscape and kill birds. When his administration cited national security concerns, it gave no detail for those concerns, and at least one expert has said the offshore projects were permitted following years of careful review that included the Department of Defense.

The administration’s stance against offshore wind and renewable energy more broadly runs counter to dozens of other countries.

The global offshore wind market is growing, with China leading the world in new installations. Nearly all of the new electricity added to the grid in 2024 was renewable. Experts say the world needs a major buildout of renewable electricity to address climate change.

Molly Morris, Equinor’s senior vice president overseeing Empire Wind, said federal officials have not given them any explanation of the national security concerns or how to mitigate them.

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A specialized heavy lift vessel, Heerema’s Sleipnir, must begin lifting the topside to the project’s offshore substation off the transport ship and onto its foundation because the Sleipnir is scheduled to depart by Feb. 1 for other commitments, Morris said. The topside weighs more than 3,000 tons and there are few specialized offshore wind installation ships in the world.

“Right now the project is in a critical situation,” Morris said. “Construction must resume by mid-January to avoid cascading delays that could ultimately lead to a cancellation of the project. We have been clear and consistent that we are ready to address any additional security concerns that were not already addressed through our lengthy engagement with various defense agencies.”

Monday’s hearing was in the same federal court, with Danish energy company Orsted prevailing. A judge ruled that work on its project, called Revolution Wind, can resume while the administration considers ways to mitigate its national security concerns. Revolution Wind is nearly complete.

After that hearing, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the pause is meant to protect the national security of the American people, and “we look forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

The Trump administration paused leases for the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Friday over Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind.

The Trump administration previously halted work on both Empire Wind and Revolution Wind. In April, it stopped construction on Empire Wind, accusing the Biden administration of rushing the permits, then allowed work to resume a month later. In August, the administration paused work on Revolution Wind for what it said were national security concerns. A month later, a federal judge ruled the project could resume.

Equinor finalized the federal lease for Empire Wind in March 2017, early in Trump’s first term. The final federal approval was in February 2024. Equinor’s limited liability company has spent about $4 billion to develop and construct the project so far.

McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.