Saks Fifth Avenue is coming back to Baltimore -- at least temporarily.
The upscale retailer, which closed its department store in Owings Mills Mall nearly two years ago, said yesterday that it will sell marked-down merchandise in a 20,000-square-foot space in Hunt Valley Mall starting Dec. 12.
The warehouse-style outlet will be neither a Saks Fifth Avenue store nor an Off-5th store, said Jennifer A. Mann, Saks' business publicity manager.
"This is merchandise that is being made available in a market that is not serviced by Saks or an Off-5th store," Mann said. Saks has never before sold its merchandise from a temporary space, she said.
Retailers often do that to test the market, said Rene Daniel of the Daniel Group, a regional mall consultant.
"I think it's a very good sign that Saks has chosen to come back into Baltimore," he said.
The Saks lease -- through at least January -- fits in with plans to remake the half-leased mall into a value-oriented center, said Frederick C. Paine, mall manager. Construction began last week on a 20,000-square-foot Designer Shoe Warehouse.
Pub Date: 12/05/97
