Russell Wilson and Ciara’s retail brand is accusing major fashion retailer Saks Fifth Avenue of stiffing the company for more than $200,000 worth of merchandise.
The House of LR&C, which Ciara and the former Seahawks quarterback launched in 2020, filed a lawsuit against Saks on Tuesday in King County Superior Court. A lawyer representing The House of LR&C said in the complaint that Saks has failed to make payments on orders that stretch back to May 1, 2023.
Saks fell behind on payments in late 2023 after ordering “substantial quantities” of merchandise that it would sell in brick-and-mortar stores as well as its online store, according to court documents. The company operated a spinoff store, Saks OFF 5th, in downtown Seattle until last month, when that Saks location shuttered.
Saks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys for The House of LR&C don’t explicitly name that location but it mentioned Saks’ Seattle operations as cause for filing in King County.
The House of LR&C sent a letter to Saks on July 8 demanding $207,584 in back payments within the next 10 days or it would sue, according to court documents. The letter outlined that Saks owed almost $120,300 for merchandise it purchased for Saks OFF 5th stores and almost $90,000 for merchandise sold online.
The letter said Saks paid off $3,000 of the total it purchased between May 2023 and July.
The parent company of Saks recently signed a deal to buy Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion, with financial help from Amazon, which will hold a minority stake. Neiman Marcus Group owns Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores.
Wilson and Ciara’s clothing brand has struggled to maintain a physical foothold.
After launching in 2020, the company spent years opening locations in malls, outdoor shopping complexes and airports. Its first shop operated in Seattle’s University Village for about five months in 2022 before closing. It also had a location in Bellevue’s Factoria neighborhood and in Lynnwood.
The company last year said it was closing all of its locations except one, in the Denver International Airport, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Wilson was playing for the Denver Broncos at the time.
The couple started the company with former Lululemon Athletica CEO Christine Day.
Wilson and Ciara left Seattle in 2022, when the Super Bowl-winning quarterback was traded to the Broncos. Their Bellevue mansion spent almost two years on the market before it was sold for $21.25 million. The original list price was $28 million.
After two disappointing seasons with the Broncos, Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March.
With assistance from Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf.
