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Hudson’s Bay, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, is being taken private by a group of its shareholders, which will try to revive the department store chain, the Associated Press reported. The deal, which is expected to close later this year or early next year, comes as Hudson’s Bay, like many retailers, has struggled amid shifting consumer behavior. Shoppers are buying more online, and they’re also looking to buy used designer goods and embracing rental services like Rent the Runway. Hudson’s Bay has been selling businesses, including Lord & Taylor and some European businesses. The Canadian company has about 300 stores, including its namesake Hudson’s Bay. Saks Fifth Avenue has been a bright spot for the company, though sales at established stores slowed down in the second quarter. Saks is finishing up a $250 million renovation of its Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan, which includes an overhaul of its beauty area. It also just opened a new floor dedicated to fine jewelry called The Vault.

U.S. retailer Sears has borrowed about $150 million from lenders, including its billionaire owner Eddie Lampert, as it racks up losses less than a year after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. The new financing will help stock Sears’ store shelves for the holiday shopping season, as it struggles to become profitable. Lampert is no stranger to bankrolling Sears, having extended loans through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc. to the department store chain over the past decade until its financial collapse last year. The new financing is backed by assets that include Sears’ real estate and intellectual property, the sources said. The funds are less than the roughly $200 million Sears originally sought. Sears was unable to borrow as much as it wanted because lenders were concerned about the 126-year-old company’s prospects and financial wherewithal. Among those that provided the financing was hedge fund Cyrus Capital Partners LP, which extended a loan to the retailer while it navigated bankruptcy court last year, one of the sources said. Sears is still hoping to negotiate with lenders and secure the roughly $200 million.

In a first step toward determining its fate, Barneys New York Inc. has selected a consortium led by Authentic Brands Group LLC as its initial bidder, setting a floor for offers due next week for the bankrupt luxury retailer, Bloomberg News reported. The $271 million offer from the Authentic Brands Group includes a plan to open Barneys shops in Saks Fifth Avenue stores, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The stalking-horse bid calls for closing seven Barneys stores, including its two Manhattan locations and its Beverly Hills store, according to a court filing yesterday. The fate of some stores, including its flagship Madison Avenue location, however, is still under discussion. Authentic owns and licenses fashion, celebrity and media brands, including Nine West and Sports Illustrated. The stalking-horse group includes B. Riley Financial Inc., according to the bankruptcy court filing in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.. Barneys filed for bankruptcy protection in August and said it would close 15 of its 22 stores, exempting its Beverly Hills location and the Madison Avenue store, among others.

A bidding war may be about to begin for Barneys New York, the beleaguered luxury department store chain that declared bankruptcy in August and became a cautionary tale of retail hubris and the death of shopping as we once knew it, the New York Times reported. One buyer could mean the liquidation of all of the retailer’s stores, while another could preserve at least some of the Barneys that shoppers know today. Authentic Brands Group, the owner of over 50 brands including Nine West, Nautica and Hickey Freeman, yesterday made a formal $264 million offer for Barneys that was accepted by the store’s lenders. That began an auction process that will take place over the next week. At least one other bidder has declared intent: a consortium of New York investors led by Sam Ben-Avraham, co-founder of streetwear brand Kith and owner of a group of trade shows. Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia G. Morris will issue her ruling on the bids on Oct. 24.

Barneys New York Inc. could get a new life inside Saks Fifth Avenue stores if a deal to buy the luxury retailer out of bankruptcy succeeds, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Authentic Brands Group LLC, owner of brands like Nine West and Aéropostale, is preparing a nearly $270 million bid for Barneys with plans to license the brand to Saks, the people said. Saks is in discussions to open Barneys departments in some of its stores and take over Barneys’ website. Authentic Brands, meanwhile, is in talks with Barneys landlords about keeping some stores open. Barneys has been trying to stave off liquidation since it filed for bankruptcy protection in August. At a bankruptcy court hearing on Friday, a Barneys lawyer said that the company needed more time to firm up a potential deal with a lead bidder that would keep the luxury retail chain alive. The new deadline to clinch that offer was set for today. Any bid approved today could still be topped in a bankruptcy auction later this month.

A dispute has erupted between Barneys New York Inc. and its lenders ahead of a Friday deadline for the retailer to produce an acceptable bid for its assets, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Barneys has been seeking an extension of the deadline while bidders, including a group of fashion executives and brand investors led by Sam Ben-Avraham, continue to negotiate potential terms. But disagreements have cropped up over some terms of the company’s $217 million financing package from B. Riley Financial Inc. and Brigade Capital Management LP, according to court papers filed this week. Among them, the lenders want Barneys to pay a 2 percent fee before making certain priority payments called administrative expenses, such as legal fees. The company said in a filing yesterday that the lenders are threatening it with potential liquidation. Multiple potential bidders are conducting due diligence, and if Barneys can finalize a deal with a lead bidder by midnight Friday, its advisers will work to develop competing offers ahead of an auction on Oct. 24, the company said yesterday. Barneys said that the lenders are using the approaching deadline to pressure the company so they “can be in a position to force a liquidation if there is even the slightest of foot faults.”

Victoria’s Secret is laying off about 15 percent of the brand’s employees at its Columbus, Ohio, headquarters as the beleaguered lingerie chain struggles to reshape its image and the chief executive of its parent company remains under scrutiny for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the New York Times reported. The cuts, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, involved about 50 people and range from senior leaders to junior staff. The timing of the layoffs was unusual in the retail industry just before the key holiday season — and followed an optimistic outlook delivered to investors by the chief of its parent company, Leslie H. Wexner, last month. L Brands, the parent company, also owns Bath & Body Works. The shares of L Brands have plummeted in recent years based on the brand’s dismal performance, and it has discounted its products and ceded market share to nimble, more inclusive competitors. The brand has also been dogged by Wexner’s ties to Epstein, the financier who was arrested in July and charged with sex trafficking involving girls as young as 14. Wexner has sought to distance himself from the financier, whom he employed for more than a decade. He has also said Epstein “misappropriated vast sums of money” from him and his family, though no charges were ever filed.

Toys “R” Us’ parent company, Tru Kids Brands, is teaming with Target Corp. to relaunch Toysrus.com, TribLive.com reported. The new site, just in time for the holiday shopping season, is basically a middleman — with reviews, product descriptions and photos — to the Target site. When it’s time to buy, customers are redirected to Target’s site to make the purchase. The move comes more than a year after the toy chain shut down its U.S. operations and just ahead of next month’s launch of two brick and mortar stores — one in Houston, the other in Paramus, N.J. Richard Barry, a former Toys “R” Us executive and now CEO of Tru Kids Brands, told the Associated Press in February that he and his team were exploring various options for the company, including freestanding stores and shops within existing stores. He said e-commerce would play a key role. Toys “R” Us filed for chapter 11 reorganization in September 2017 and liquidated its businesses in 2018.