Saks Fifth Avenue owner spins e-commerce site into separate business

• HBC, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, said it will split the luxury department store's website into a separate business after raising $500 million.
• The venture capital firm Insight Partners has put up $500 million to take a minority stake in Saks.com, valuing the business at $2 billion.
• "Luxury ecommerce is poised for exponential growth," HBC CEO Richard Baker said.

HBC, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, said Friday it will split the luxury department store's website into a separate business from its stores after it raised $500 million.

It said the venture capital firm Insight Partners has put up $500 million to take a minority stake in Saks.com, valuing the business at $2 billion. Saks' 40 brick-and-mortar stores will become a separate business known as SFA, which will remain wholly owned by HBC.

The Covid pandemic has prompted consumers to shift their spending online, with several luxury retailers showing resilience. Affluent shoppers have splurged on high-end handbags, jewelry and other accessories.

"Luxury ecommerce is poised for exponential growth," HBC CEO Richard Baker said in a statement.

Marc Metrick, who was chief executive of the combined Saks businesses, is set to become CEO of the new digital company. Former Amazon exec Sebastian Gunningham is joining the e-commerce company's board, and Saks veteran Larry Bruce has been appointed president of the SFA business, reporting to Baker.

HBC was taken private last year by a group of shareholders that includes Baker. HBC also owns the Hudson's Bay department store chain in Canada, and the discount business Saks Off Fifth.

"Luxury ecommerce is an exceptionally resilient high-growth sector," said Insight Partners' Managing Director Deven Parekh.

Some of Insight Partners' other investments include the tech and software companies Shopify and Qualtrics.

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