WeWork taking space in some Saks stores

First there was co-work, then live-work and now SaksWork.

That’s the name of a new venture from Saks Fifth Avenue and WeWork, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Hudson’s Bay Company, which owns the upscale retailer, is converting some of its Saks department store space into co-working locations to be operated by WeWork, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Hudson’s Bay plans to open five co-working spaces in New York next month, and the venture may set its sights on other markets, including Los Angeles, according to the report.

Some of the new co-working locations will also be in space formerly occupied by Lord & Taylor, which declared bankruptcy and converted into an online-only retailer.

One SaksWorks office will replace a shuttered Saks men’s store in Lower Manhattan. Another is coming to the 10th floor of the flagship store in Midtown Manhattan, formerly occupied by a children’s store. Additional locations are planned for Manhasset in Long Island, Scarsdale and Greenwich, Connecticut.

The cost will be $299 a month, the same as the WeWork All Access membership. Locations will include a cafe, a gym, an open layout and mobile desks to quickly rearrange spaces.

WeWork is betting big on the revival of co-working spaces in response to the pandemic and the shifting culture around office work. The company is also negotiating a $150 million partnership with Cushman & Wakefield, as well as planning to go public in a SPAC deal with BowX Acquisition later this year.

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[WSJ] — Holden Walter-Warner