Saks Inc. Chairman Brad Martin slashed his stake in the luxury retailer by 85 percent, according to a regulatory filing yesterday, as the company continues to flounder.
Martin sold 2.22 million shares for a total of $307.3 million, reducing his holdings to 385,402 shares, or about 0.3 percent of the company.
Martin had great success over the past decade rolling up regional department stores, a strategy that culminated with the 1998 purchase of Saks Fifth Avenue.
More recently, Martin reversed course by divesting his empire, an acknowledgement that middle market regional stores had little in common with the upscale, New York-based SFA.
The company recently sold department stores chains in the Southeast and Northwest, leaving it with SFA as its last remaining major business.
Martin stepped down from the day-to-day running of the company in January, appointing his second in command Stephen Sadove as chief executive.
Sadove has largely reversed steps taken by SFA’s previous chief Fred Wilson to modernize the store by focusing on a young, chic customer. That strategy backfired when it alienated too many of SFA’s older, more conservative clients.
Last week, Saks said it lost $51.8 million, or 38 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with a profit of $8.2 million, or 6 cents a year earlier.
Sales at SFA stores opened at least a year fell 3.4 percent in the period.
Saks shares have lost nearly 40 percent of their value over the past 12 months. They closed down 27 cents, or 1.75 percent, to $15.16 in New York Stock Exchange trading yesterday.
Martin sold 2 million shares on Aug. 16 for $15.20 a share, and another 219,000 shares for $15.51 the following day, according to the filing.
Saks spokeswoman Juila Bentley did not return an e-mail yesterday seeking comment.