Saks Global received US court approval on Wednesday to draw on $400 million in bankruptcy financing, providing the luxury retailer with urgent liquidity to continue operations following its $3.4 billion debt filing.

US Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez authorised the initial tranche of a $1.75 billion rescue package during a hearing in Houston, Texas, despite objections from Amazon.com, which holds a $475 million equity stake in the company.

Mark Weinstein, chief restructuring officer at Saks, told the court that without the funding, the company would be “dead in the water,” and said the cash would be used to pay vendors and its 17,000 employees. Debra Sinclair, Saks’ attorney, said all stores remain “open for business” and stressed that customer demand remains strong. “The customers are there, and we know this because when we do have goods available in our stores, we are able to sell them,” she said.

Amazon, a minority investor in Saks following the retailer’s 2024 acquisition of Neiman Marcus, argued that the bankruptcy financing plan would render its equity “presumptively worthless.” Caroline Reckler, Amazon’s attorney, told the court that the company had “little to no confidence” that Saks could successfully emerge from bankruptcy and raised concerns over the use of Saks Fifth Avenue’s Manhattan flagship store as collateral for the new loan.

The financing will also help Saks address outstanding obligations to suppliers, who had previously withheld inventory due to payment delays. The company disclosed that it owes over $337 million to critical vendors, including $136 million to Chanel and $26 million to Kering, which owns Gucci. Analysts cited by Reuters noted that restoring vendor confidence will be crucial to resuming normal inventory flows.

Judge Perez also approved routine motions to maintain business continuity, including payments to employees and vendors, enabling Saks to continue operations across its Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks OFF 5TH stores. The retailer emphasised that e-commerce operations and customer programmes such as gift cards and loyalty benefits would remain unaffected.

Amazon has signalled that it may pursue further legal remedies if its concerns are not addressed, potentially including the appointment of an examiner or trustee, according to court filings. Saks and Amazon declined to comment beyond the statements in court documents.

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