Saks to leave Dallas Galleria, Belk moving in

New York City --Saks Inc. announced Tuesday it will shutter its Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Dallas Galleria on June 15. The retailer has operated a store in Dallas since 1982, and the summer closing will leave some 120 associates with the choice of transfer or severance.

Simultaneous with the Saks departure announcement was news from department store chain Belk that it will fill the vacated Galleria space with a $20-million, 170,000-sq.-ft. flagship store that starts construction in July and is slated to open spring 2014.

Saks had already closed its Austin store, and now operates only Saks Off Fifth outlet stores (three) in the Dallas-Fort Worth trade area. The retailer still has full-line department stores in Houston and San Antonio.

“The planned closing of our Dallas store is consistent with our strategy of employing our resources in our most productive locations,” said Steve Sadove, CEO, Saks. “We regularly assess the productivity, profitability, and potential of each of our store locations and may determine that a closing is appropriate from time to time.”