NEW YORK (AP) - Don't let the global economy fool you: Luxury is hardly dead.
Saks Inc. agreed to sell itself to Hudson's Bay Co., the Canadian parent of upscale retailer Lord & Taylor, for about $2.4 billion in a deal that will bring luxury to more North American locales.
The acquisition combines three department-store brands - Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue- and creates a North American upscale retailing behemoth with 320 stores in some of the biggest and most populous cities in the U.S. and Canada.
Lord & Taylor and Hudson's Bay, Canadian's biggest department store chain, both cater to well-heeled shoppers who can afford $98 Free People blouses and $250 Coach handbags. Saks customers, on the other hand, are more affluent and can shell out $800 for Christian Louboutin heels or a couple of thousand dollars for Gucci handbags.