Saks to close Portland mall stores, will consider closing others

New York City Saks said Tuesday that it plans to shutter one department store and one men’s store at a Portland, Ore., mall.

The Saks Fifth Avenue stores at the Pioneer Place Mall are closing because they are not as productive as other locations, according to Saks chairman and CEO Steve Sadove.

The main store is set to close on April 25, while the men's store is expected to close by July 31.

Sadove also told investors Tuesday that it will consider closing other stores that aren’t productive and have leases expiring. He said the company expects to close "a few stores" this year and to focus on improving sales productivity at existing stores.

"I doubt you're going to see a lot of new stores opening on the full-line side," said Sadove. "It's going to be making the current stores more productive."

He said the stores that would be closed would be those that have a lease expiring and which are losing money.

Sadove also said the company plans to spend about $55 million on capital expenditures this year, down from $59 million last year and peak spending of between $125 million and $150 million a year several years ago.