Consent of Independent Accountants We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-27813) of Saks Incorporated (formerly Proffitt's, Inc.) of our report dated June 15, 1999, relating to the financial statements of G.R. Herberger's, Inc. 401(k) Employee Stock Purchase Plan and Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which appears in this Form 11-K. /s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Birmingham, Alabama June 29, 1999