When the Gateway Shifts: What Saks’ Collapse Means For Your Next Spritz of Luxury

I remember the Saks fragrance hall as a mood all its own: velvet hush, serious spritzing, the quiet thud of a boxed bottle of No. 5 placed in a ribboned bag. Now the math has crashed the party. The biggest unsecured creditor is Chanel, and that number is not pocket change. For a brand that usually runs on a concession model, being owed this much says the old department store handshake has stopped feeling like security.

Here is the unvarnished perfume angle. The gateway to luxury used to be a department store counter. Today the gate is moving. Nordstrom has already scooped up talent from Saks and Neiman, and Bloomingdale’s is wooing the same marquee names you clock in every serious fragrance wardrobe: Chanel, Chloé, Burberry. Translation for your nose and your wallet: expect those counters to get bigger, the GWP games to intensify, and the chase for limited sets and boutique-ish edits to shift across town.

If you buy Chanel at a department store, this reshuffle matters. Concession models mean the brand controls staffing, assortment, even visual language. When the floor changes, the experience changes. You’ll probably see tighter stock discipline on hero lines, more focus on brand storytelling at the counter, and fewer dusty flankers lurking behind a tester tower. Returns may get stricter, sampling might skew more curated, and loyalty perks will try harder because competition is suddenly real again.

All of this doesn’t scream luxury in decline. It screams middleman in question. The brands we actually care about in our cabinets are choosing where they want to be smelled. For Chloé and Burberry, that could mean cleaner, more consistent fragrance edits at Bloomingdale’s. For Chanel, it could mean doubling down on counters where they set the rules, while quietly steering connoisseurs to their own channels when something rare drops.

As a reporter who lives at the tester bar, I’m bracing for short term chaos mixed with opportunity. Watch Nordstrom for service-led discovery and early replenishment. Watch Bloomingdale’s for floor space that signals intent. And when a house like Chanel is owed this much, watch the brand. They will not let the scent of control evaporate.