Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH to Open in San Antonio in 2009

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) (“Saks” or the “Company”) today announced it will open a new 28,000 square foot Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (“OFF 5TH”) store in San Antonio, Texas in spring 2009. The new store will be located in The Rim, a premier lifestyle shopping and entertainment center located in the city’s booming northwest corridor.

Robert Wallstrom, President of OFF 5TH, noted, “The vibrant and rapidly growing city of San Antonio is the perfect location for our new OFF 5TH, and The Rim will be the ideal center for our showcase store.” The new location at The Rim will be the Company’s first OFF 5TH store in the San Antonio area. The Company currently operates OFF 5TH stores in metropolitan Dallas (Grapevine), metropolitan Houston (Katy and Stafford), and metropolitan Austin (San Marcos).

“We are very excited about the addition of Saks OFF 5TH here at The Rim,” said Ward A. Kampf, president of retail leasing for Thomas Enterprises Inc., developer of The Rim. “Saks is seen as the leader in the luxury sector with Saks Fifth Avenue and for the discerning value shopper with OFF 5TH. OFF 5TH will complement The Rim’s premier mix of power and specialty retail stores and top-flight dining and entertainment that spans more than 1.3 million square feet.”

The San Antonio store will continue the growth already underway at OFF 5TH. The Company also will open 28,000 square foot OFF 5TH stores in The Arches at Deer Park in Deer Park (Long Island), New York in October 2008; Prime Outlets in St. Augustine, Florida in November 2008; Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in Mercedes, Texas in November 2008; The Legends at Sparks Marina in Reno-Sparks, Nevada in May 2009: Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe, Ohio in August 2009; and Grand Prairie Prime Outlets in Grand Prairie (metropolitan Dallas), Texas in November 2009.

Each of the new OFF 5TH locations will be designed after the Company’s innovative prototype store which opened with much success in Orlando, Florida’s Prime Outlets International Center in April 2008. The San Antonio location will be the first of the new prototype stores to be located in a non-outlet mall format.

About OFF 5TH and the Company

OFF 5TH is the savvy shopper's premier source for value-priced designer clothing and accessories, offering customers an unparalleled array of both coveted designer names and unique merchandise under the Saks Fifth Avenue label. OFF 5TH places the highest priority on style, selection, and superior customer service.

The OFF 5TH prototype store, first opened in Orlando, Florida in April 2008, was carefully created using a “luxury in a loft environment” design created to highlight the merchandise and make shopping easy. The store maximizes efficiency and flexibility, enabling effortless alterations in the general layout as business needs change. The store is bright and uncluttered, with no hard aisles and one consistent hard-surface floor throughout. All fixtures are on casters, ensuring ease in movement, and all hardware is interchangeable between fixtures.

Prototype store renderings and Orlando OFF 5TH store photos are available upon request.

Saks Incorporated currently operates Saks Fifth Avenue, which consists of 53 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 48 Saks OFF 5TH stores, and saks.com. The Company also operates Club Libby Lu specialty stores. The OFF 5TH stores are located in 23 states.

About The Rim and San Antonio

The Rim is San Antonio’s premier casual luxury mixed-use development featuring power and specialty retail stores, dining, and entertainment, located at the northeast corner of Interstate Highway 10 West and Loop 1604 in the city’s burgeoning northwest growth corridor. Current space spans more than 1.3 million square feet, including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Target, Santikos Palladium Theatre, Best Buy, JCPenney, and a broad selection of dining establishments, with plans for hotel and upscale condominium construction. The Rim is a development of Thomas Enterprises Inc., based in Newnan, Georgia. Founded in 1987, Thomas Enterprises is a visionary real estate development company that specializes in creating dynamic places where commerce, life, and leisure intersect. Capabilities include master-planned communities and mixed-used projects, as well as retail, hotel, residential, and office developments. Thomas Enterprises has developed more than 40 million square feet of retail property valued at $4 billion, plus owns more than 20,000 acres of prime, developable land throughout the United States.

San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas, the seventh largest city in the United States, and the fourth fastest growing large city in the nation. Its metropolitan area has nearly two million people.

Forward-looking Information

The information contained in this press release that addresses future results or expectations is considered “forward-looking” information within the definition of the Federal securities laws. Forward-looking information in this document can be identified through the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “estimate,” “contemplate,” “possible,” and “point.” The forward-looking information is premised on many factors, some of which are outlined below. Actual consolidated results might differ materially from projected forward-looking information if there are any material changes in management’s assumptions.

The forward-looking information and statements are or may be based on a series of projections and estimates and involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include such factors as: the level of consumer spending for apparel and other merchandise carried by the Company and its ability to respond quickly to consumer trends; adequate and stable sources of merchandise; the competitive pricing environment within the retail sector; the effectiveness of planned advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns; favorable customer response to relationship marketing efforts of proprietary credit card loyalty programs; appropriate inventory management; effective expense control; successful operation of the Company’s proprietary credit card strategic alliance with HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A.; geo-political risks; changes in interest rates; and fluctuations in foreign currency and exchange rates. For additional information regarding these and other risk factors, please refer to the Company’s filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which may be accessed via EDGAR through the Internet at www.sec.gov.

Management undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Persons are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures management makes on related subjects in its reports filed with the SEC and in its press releases.