the chain of department stores . for its former parent company see saks inc. saks fifth avenue type subsidiary industry retail founded 1898 1898 founder andrew saks headquarters new york city new york u.s. number of locations saks fifth avenue 40 1 international 6 2 off 5th 110 3 key people marc metrick president 2015 4 owner hudson s bay company parent saks inc. subsidiaries saks off 5th website saksfifthavenue.com saks fifth avenue is an american luxury department store owned by the oldest commercial corporation in north america the hudson s bay company . its main flagship store is located on fifth avenue in midtown manhattan new york city . 5 6 contents 1 history 2 legal controversies 3 gallery 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit the 1996 2007 logo flagship store in manhattan new york saks fifth avenue in toronto saks fifth avenue is the successor of a business founded by andrew saks in 1867 and incorporated in new york in 1902 as saks & company . saks died in 1912 and in 1923 saks & co. merged with gimbel brothers inc. which was owned by a cousin of horace saks 7 bernard gimbel operating as a separate autonomous subsidiary . on september 15 1924 horace saks and bernard gimbel opened saks fifth avenue in new york city with a full block avenue frontage south of st patrick s cathedral facing rockefeller center . the architects were starrett & van vleck who developed a reticent genteel anglophile classicizing facade similar to their gimbels department store in pittsburgh 1914 . when bernard s brother adam gimbel became president of saks fifth avenue in 1926 after bernard s sudden passing the company expanded opening seasonal resort branches in palm beach florida and southampton new york in 1928 . the first full line year round saks store opened in chicago in 1929 followed by another resort store in miami beach florida . in 1938 saks expanded to the west coast opening in beverly hills california . by the end of the 1930s saks fifth avenue had a total of 10 stores including resort locations such as sun valley idaho mount stowe and newport rhode island . more full line stores followed with detroit michigan in 1940 and pittsburgh pennsylvania in 1949 . in downtown pittsburgh the company moved to its own freestanding location approximately one block from its former home on the fourth floor in the downtown gimbel s flagship . the san francisco location opened in 1952 competing locally with i. magnin . 8 batus inc. acquired gimbel bros. inc. and its saks fifth avenue subsidiary in 1973 as part of its diversification strategy . more expansion followed from the 1960s through the 1990s including the midwest and the south particularly in texas . in 1990 batus sold saks to investcorp s.a. which took saks public in 1996 as saks holdings inc. in 1998 proffitt s inc. the parent company of proffitt s and other department stores acquired saks holdings inc. upon completing the acquisition proffitt s inc. changed its name to saks inc. since 2000 saks has opened international locations in saudi arabia united arab emirates bahrain kazakhstan and mexico city . 9 in august 2007 the united states postal service began an experimental program selling the plus zip code extension to businesses . the first company to do so was saks fifth avenue which received the zip code of 10022 shoe 7463 for the eighth floor shoe department in its flagship fifth avenue store . 10 as of 2013 the new york flagship store whose real estate value was estimated between 800 million and over 1 billion at the time generated around 20 % of saks annual sales at 620 million with other stores being less profitable according to analysts . 11 12 on july 29 2013 the hudson s bay company hbc owner of the competing chain lord & taylor announced it would acquire saks fifth avenue s parent company for us 2.9 billion . 13 plans called for up to seven saks fifth avenues to open in major canadian markets . expansion into canada is expected to compete with canadian holt renfrew chain and challenge nordstrom s expansion into canada which began in summer 2014 with the opening of a nordstrom store in calgary . in january 2014 hbc announced the first saks store in canada would occupy 150 000 sq ft 14 000 m2 in its flagship queen street building in downtown toronto connected to the toronto eaton centre via sky bridge . the store opened in february 2016 14 with a second toronto area location in the sherway gardens shopping center opening in spring 2016 . 15 on january 6 2014 marigay mckee previously chief merchant at harrods became president of saks fifth avenue . 16 17 she stepped down 15 months later on april 2 2015 and was replaced by marc metrick a former executive at saks s parent company hudson s bay . 4 starting in 2015 saks began a 250 million three year restoration of its fifth avenue flagship store . 18 in the summer of 2015 it was announced that saks will debut a new location in greenwich connecticut . 19 20 in the fall of 2015 saks was planning to replace its existing store at the houston galleria with a new store . 21 22 in february 2016 it opened its first canadian store at the corner of queen street west and yonge street in toronto in the hudson s bay flagship store . 23 saks opened their second new york full line store at brookfield place near the world trade center on september 9 2016 . legal controversies edit in 2005 vendors filed against saks alleging unlawful chargebacks . the u.s. securities and exchange commission sec investigated the complaint for years and according to the new york times exposed a tangle of illicit tactics that let saks ... keep money it owed to clothing makers inflating saks yearly earnings up to 43 % and abusively collecting around 30 million from suppliers over seven years . 24 saks settled with the sec in 2007 after firing three or more executives involved in the fraudulent activities . 24 25 in 2014 saks fired transgender employee leyth jamal after she was allegedly belittled by coworkers forced to use the men s room and repeatedly referred to by male pronouns he and him . 26 27 after jamal submitted a lawsuit for unfair dismissal the company stated in a motion to dismiss that it is well settled that transsexuals are not protected by title vii . 26 27 28 in a court filing the united states department of justice rebuked saks argument stating that discrimination against an individual based on gender identity is discrimination because of sex . 29 the company was removed from the human rights campaign s list of allies during the controversy . 26 27 28 the lawsuit was later settled amicably without disclosing the terms of the settlement . 29 gallery edit former his and hers saks fifth avenue stores face each other on the magnificent mile in chicago . the men s department relocated to the main building in 2014 . saks fifth avenue in santa fe mall in mexico city . saks at the north star mall in san antonio texas see also edit new york city portal companies portal saks 34th street references edit this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message http sakspov.saksfifthavenue.com events 2 saks fifth avenue sarasota grand opening http www.saksfifthavenue.com stores international.jsp http www.wsj.com articles lord taylor jumps into discount game 1445812325 a b president of saks steps down . the new york times . retrieved on april 3 2015 . store locations and events . saks inc. retrieved 2014 05 21 . about us . saks fifth avenue . retrieved 2014 05 21 . block maxine ; rothe anna herthe ; candee marjorie dent 1951 . current biography yearbook . h. w. wilson co. p. 173 . zinko carolyne 2003 12 04 . eileen denari ludwig s.f. civic leader . san francisco chronicle . retrieved 2016 07 31 . sak s fifth avenue international locations saks website . saks.com . retrieved 2015 09 12 . saks department gets own zip code 10022 shoe . usa today . associated press . 24 may 2007 . retrieved 2014 05 21 . wahba phil ; ho solarina 2013 07 29 . hudson s bay ceo bets big on department stores with saks buy . reuters . retrieved 2016 07 31 . http www.crainsnewyork.com article 20130729 real estate 130729876 saks flagship adds 1b punch to purchase lewis michael 29 july 2013 . hudson s bay rolls the dice on saks . toronto star . retrieved 2014 05 21 . http www.theglobeandmail.com report on business saks braces for battle in canadas crowded luxury fashion market article28761659 strauss marina 27 january 2014 . tycoon shows his real estate savvy with sale of hudson s bay store . the globe and mail . retrieved 2014 05 27 . diderich joelle 22 january 2014 . fashion crowd toasts richard baker in paris . women s wear daily . retrieved 2014 05 21 . saks fifth avenue appoints mark briggs chief marketing officer press release . hudson s bay company . 19 december 2013 . retrieved 2014 05 21 . http www.nytimes.com 2015 11 15 business saks is shaking off retail gloom with a fifth avenue face lift.html http www.businesswire.com news home 20151008005752 en saks avenue signs lease location greenwich connecticut http www.greenwichtime.com business article saks signs lease for third greenwich property 6551701.php saks fifth avenue to relocate its flagship store at the houston galleria . www.prnewswire.com . retrieved 2015 11 14 . saks acts as cornerstone of houston galleria s 250m transformation luxury daily in store . www.luxurydaily.com . retrieved 2015 11 14 . hong jackie 18 february 2016 . saks opens first canadian store . toronto star . retrieved 18 february 2016 . a b barbaro michael 2007 09 06 . saks settles with s.e.c. on overpayments . the new york times . issn 0362 4331 . retrieved 2015 09 21 . saks inc. settles financial reporting and related charges by sec press release . securities and exchange commission . 5 september 2007 . retrieved 2014 05 21 . a b c steinmetz katy 2015 01 12 . how the lawsuit between saks and a transgender employee might shake out . time . retrieved 2015 01 13 . a b c hoffman meredith 2015 01 13 . saks is fighting to discriminate against a transgender ex employee . vice news . retrieved 2015 01 13 . a b reilly nicholas 2015 01 09 . new york department store saks defends discrimination against transgender staff . metro . retrieved 2015 01 13 . a b zillman claire 2015 03 05 . saks settles discrimination suit with transgender employee after sparking outrage . fortune . retrieved 2015 10 08 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to saks fifth avenue . official website v t e hudson s bay company canadian holdings hudson s bay zellers home outfitters u.s. holdings creative design studios lord & taylor saks fifth avenue former holdings north west company 1779 1821 g.w. robinson 1972 1980 shop rite 1972 1982 marshall wells 1976 1985 designer depot 2004 2008 fortunoff 2008 2009 fields 1978 2012 markborough properties to 1996 just kids acquired folded in i. g. baker company 1891 j. f. cairns ltd. 1918 smallman and ingram 1944 federal stores ltd 1952 via zellers freimans 1972 morgan s 1972 simpsons 1991 towers 1991 via zellers woodward s 1993 kmart canada 1998 related topics hudson s bay rewards hudson s bay company archives nrdc equity partners rupert s land saks inc.