The vendors and other secured creditors in the Saks Global bankruptcy aren’t the only ones looking to Richard Baker for information about exactly how the tony retailer descended into bankruptcy. 

The special committee of HBC GP LLC — the ultimate parent company in the suite of Chapter 11 filings that make up the Saks Global bankruptcy — said it “has sought voluntary cooperation” of both Baker, the retailer’s former chief executive officer and chairman, and Ian Putnam, former CEO of Saks Global Properties & Investments.  

But so far, the committee has been “unable to secure the full participation” of Baker and Putnam, according to court documents. 

“The special committee believes that information and testimony from these individuals would be useful in the context of its independent investigation into the potential viability of legal claims,” the committee said. 

Exactly what kinds of legal claims are being explored was not specified, but the committee did say it “supports the use of appropriate processes to obtain information and testimony from these witnesses.”

Last week, unsecured creditors filed Rule 2004 requests seeking to compel Baker and Putnam to hand over a raft of documents under bankruptcy law. 

Creditors, for instance, asked Baker to turn over “all documents and communications between you and [former CEO] Marc Metrick relating to the debtors” as well as “all documents and communications relating to the acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group.”

The $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus in December 2024 was supposed to give Saks Global more scale, greater efficiency and enough money for the company to get right again with vendors, who suffered from shipments of goods that went unpaid. 

While the deal led to cost cuts, the price paid ultimately loaded the retailer down with too much debt, leaving vendors in the lurch and sending the company into bankruptcy in January.

Rachel Strickland, the attorney at Ropes & Gray who is representing Baker and Putnam for the Rule 2004 requests, did not respond to a WWD request for comment.