What:  Saks Fifth Avenue has opened its 2 first SaksWorks in New York, in partnership with WeWork

Why it is important:  It is all about creating new sources of revenue out of deceiving spaces: a kids space in the Manhattan flagship, a former store which was shut down before the pandemic. The question which remains is to know how these spaces can be comparable in terms of profitability with what retailers are used to.

Based on the reasoning that in the post-covid world, living rooms are offices and offices need to look like living rooms, Saks Fifth Avenue announced the opening of Saksworks in partnership with WeWork last August (see our news here). Although it was imagined in 2019, and announced last August, the first two spaces opened in September 21, on the 10th floor of the flagship in Manhattan and another one in the Financial District outpost (that has been shut down in 2019 after 2 years of activity only). Other locations are planned in Long Island, Westchester and Greenwich.

Accessible with either USD 50 day passes or a USD 300 monthly subscription, the space is filled with memorabilia (candles with an exclusive scent), on-site incentives to eat, drink or buy products, as well as a gym equipped with Peloton bikes.

The journalist, by reminding that a paying semi-privacy is not the same than a free, full privacy, ponders how long this concept might take to fully catch on.

SaksWorks Is Part WeWork, Part Department Store. Can It Work