By: Benyamin Davidsons

New Yorkers are missing the famed annual Saks Fifth Avenue light show at its flagship store at 611 Fifth Avenue, between 49th and 50th streets.

As reported by the NY Post, New York locals were disappointed and hesitant to travel out in this week’s frigid weather to see the store’s displays, without the light show. Tourists, however, still delighted at Sak’s replacement designer window displays, featuring designs from Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and more. “It’s still pretty out,” said Marge, who traveled from Maryland for Thanksgiving weekend with her husband and daughter. “And we still had to see it. This was one of the stops.” Another woman, visiting from Colorado, similarly lauded the designer window displays. “I think it’s beautiful,” the woman, who didn’t wish to give her name, told the Post. “It’s the highlight of our afternoon.” “I love fashion, so I love it.”

Locals at the scene were less enthused, however. “We’re very disappointed,” said Anastasia from New Jersey, who had visited the store in previous years with her husband and daughter for the holiday displays, for over a decade. “I’m sure it was a big to-do, setting up the whole thing, but it was definitely a destination on Fifth Avenue,” she said of the previous spectacular light show and its “much more elaborate [display] windows going all around.”

“I’m disappointed that there’s not a story”, said Jane, a longtime New Yorker. “They always had such intricate windows,” she told the Post.

“I was expecting it to be more festive, it used to be more Christmas-y,” said Susan, who grew up in NY and who now lives in Charlotte, NC. “No, I wouldn’t tell anyone to come see it,” she added.

Saks Fifth Avenue’s iconic annual light show had historically been a much-anticipated spectacle, attracting long lines of window-gazers each year, since 2004. In mid-November, the department store chain had announced the cancellation of its annual holiday light show in the Big Apple. “For many years, the holidays at Saks Fifth Avenue included a light show at our flagship store, and for some time, we have contemplated changing our approach,” a Saks Fifth Avenue rep had announced. Now, instead of the glowing spectacular, “in our 100th year, which also marks the anniversary of the flagship, we are celebrating the season by honoring the architectural significance of this iconic building, elegantly illuminating the façade and framing the holiday windows, as well as highlighting the fashion for which Saks Fifth Avenue is known,” the representative said.

A Saks rep indicated that the change was made in a bid to cut costs, saying that the department store giant “acknowledged that it has been a challenging year for luxury, and, like others, we are carefully managing our business to ensure the company is best-positioned for the future.” The decision to nix the show seemed to be made within the last few weeks. In October, a news release had announced that the Sak’’ holiday show would go on this year, presented by MasterCard for the 15th year in a row.

Per the Post, last year’s light show, a collaboration with luxury brand Dior named “Dior’s Carousel of Dreams at Saks,” featured 300,000 LED lights across the building’s 10 stories to the tune of classic holiday anthems, along with a fireworks display.