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 Neiman Marcus Building, the flagship store and headquarters inDowntown Dallas, 2011 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 10, 1907 (118 years ago) (1907-09-10) inDallas, Texas, United States |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas ,United States |
Number of locations | 36 (2024) |
Area served | United States |
| Products |
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| Parent |
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| Website | neimanmarcus |
Neiman Marcus (colloquiallyNeimans) is anupmarket American department store chain founded in 1907 inDallas,Texas byHerbert Marcus, his sisterCarrie Marcus Neiman, and her husbandAbraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned bySaks Global, aspin-off of theHudson's Bay Company, since 2024.[1][2]
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Herbert Marcus Sr., a former buyer with Dallas'Sanger Brothers department store, had left his previous job to found a new business with his sisterCarrie Marcus Neiman and her husband,Abraham Lincoln Neiman, then employees of Sanger Brothers competitorA. Harris and Co. In 1907, the trio hadUS$25,000 (equivalent to $843,661 in 2024) from the successful sales-promotion firm they had built inAtlanta, Georgia, and two potential investments of funds. Rather than take a chance on an unknown "sugary soda pop business," the three entrepreneurs rejected the fledglingCoca-Cola company[3] and chose instead to return to Dallas to establish a retail business. For this reason, early company CEO Peb Atera was quoted in 1957 as saying in jest that Neiman Marcus was "founded on bad business judgment."[4] The store, established on September 10, 1907, was lavishly furnished and stocked with clothing of a quality not commonly found in Texas. Within a few weeks, the store's initial inventory, mostly acquired on a buying trip to New York made by Carrie, was completely sold out. Oil-rich Texans, welcoming the opportunity to flaunt their wealth in more sophisticated fashion than was previously possible, flocked to the new store. In spite of thePanic of 1907 set off only a few weeks after its opening, Neiman Marcus was instantly successful, and its first several years of operation were quite profitable.[5]
In 1914, a fire destroyed the Neiman Marcus store and all of its merchandise. A temporary store was opened for 17 days.[6] By the end of 1914, Neiman Marcus opened at its new, permanent location at the corner of Main Street and Ervay Street. With the opening of the flagshipNeiman Marcus Building, the store increased its product selection to include accessories,lingerie, and children's clothing, as well as expanding the women's apparel department. In its first year at the new building, Neiman Marcus recorded a profit of $40,000 on sales of $700,000, nearly twice the totals reached in its last year at the original location.[5]
In 1927, the store expanded, and Neiman Marcus premiered the first weekly retail fashion show in the United States.[7] The store staged a show called "One Hundred Years of Texas Fashions" in 1936 in honor of thecentennial ofTexas's independence from Mexico. A later profile of the store, "Neiman Marcus of Texas", described the "grandiose and elaborate" gala, noting: "It was on this occasion that one of the most critical among the store's guests, Mrs. Edna Woolman Chase, editor ofVogue, expressing the sentiment of the store's starry-eyed clientele, told the local press:[4]
I dreamed all my life of the perfect store for women. Then I saw Neiman Marcus, and my dream had come true.
— Edna Woolman Chase, editor ofVogue (1936), quoted inCommentary 1957
In 1929, the store began offering menswear. During the 1930s and 1940s, Neiman Marcus began to include less-expensive clothing lines along with its high-end items, in response to theGreat Depression and following war years. Between 1942 and 1944, sales at Neiman Marcus grew from $6 million to $11 million.[5] Despite a major fire in 1946, the store continued to profit.
Herbert Marcus Sr. died in 1950, and Carrie Neiman died two years later, leavingStanley Marcus in charge of the company's operations.[5][8]
The 1950s saw the addition of a $1.6 million store at 8300Preston Road in thePreston Center; the location been occupied by a Tootsies store since the 1990s.[9] It was a 63,000-square-foot (5,900 m2) store "inspired by the art and culture of Southwestern Indians" and "colors ... copied from Indian weaving, pottery, and sand paintings". The themed decor includedKachina figures on colored-glass murals and anAlexander Caldermobile named "Mariposa,"[10] the Spanish word for butterfly. Art likewise was used as inspiration for Stanley Marcus' seasonal campaigns to solicit new colors in fabrics, as he did the year that he borrowed 20Paul Gauguin paintings — many of which had never been publicly exhibited — from collectors around the world and had the vivid colors translated into dyes for wool, silk, and leather. Area teachers cited the Gauguin exhibits as spurring a dramatic increase in art study.[11]
In the 1950s and 1960s,Gittings operated a portrait studio in Neiman Marcus. Clients includedHope Portocarrero,Lyndon Johnson,Howard Hughes, and theShah of Iran,Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family. A late 1960s Christmas Book featured portraits ofWyatt Cooper, his wifeGloria Vanderbilt, and children Carter andAnderson Cooper.
The company continued its extravagant marketing efforts (including the launch of His and Her gifts in the famous Christmas Book) with the inauguration of Fortnight in 1957. The Fortnight was an annual presentation of fashions and culture from a particular country, held in late October and early November of each year, and was one of the most anticipated events in Dallas. It brought fashion, dignitaries, celebrities, exotic food and extravagant celebrations to the downtown store for 29 years.[5][12]
In 1955, Neiman Marcus acquired Ben Wolfman, Inc. which operated a 9-story store, The Fashion, inDowntown Houston. Wolfman stayed on to run the store, which became branch of Neiman Marcus,[13] the first store outside theDallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The freestanding store was later replaced with a new anchor store located in theHouston Galleria in 1970. In 1965 the Preston Center store was closed and a new store, more than twice as big, was opened at NorthPark Center. Another branch in Fort Worth was also opened. By 1967 the four Neiman Marcus stores in operation were generating annual sales of $58.5 million, and the company's profit for that year was in excess of $2 million.[5] In 1968, the company merged with Broadway-Hale Stores, Inc., which enabled Neiman Marcus to expand at a much faster pace than would have been possible as an independent entity. In 1971, the first Neiman Marcus outside Texas opened inBal Harbour, Florida. In subsequent years stores opened in over 30 cities across the United States, includingAtlanta,Pittsburgh,Charlotte,Beverly Hills,Boston,Chicago,Las Vegas,Minneapolis,San Francisco andSt. Louis. Neiman Marcus also had a letter of intent to open a 120,000 square foot store in downtown Cleveland in 1992 as part of an anchor for the upscaleTower City Center. However, the project did not come to fruition, instead opening its concept store in the 1990s.[14] In 1987 Bergdorf Goodman was acquired by the Neiman Marcus Group.[15] In the 1980s, the hyphenated spelling of the company name ("Neiman-Marcus") was abandoned.[16]
Stanley Marcus died on January 22, 2002. He had served as president and chairman of the board for the company. Marcus had been the architect behind the fashion shows, New York advertising for a strictly regional chain, in-store art exhibits, and the Christmas catalog with its outlandish His-and-Hers gifts, includingvicuña wool coats, a pair of airplanes, "Noah's Ark"[failed verification] (including pairs of animals), camels, and live tigers.[4][6][17]
Over the last 20 years, ownership of Neiman Marcus has passed through several hands. In June 1987, the company wasspun off from its retail parent,Carter Hawley Hale Stores, and became a publicly listed company.General Cinema, later to becomeHarcourt General, still had a roughly 60% controlling interest until 1999, when Neiman Marcus was fully spun off from itsparent company. On May 2, 2005, Neiman Marcus Group was the subject of aleveraged buyout (LBO), selling itself to twoprivate equity firms,Texas Pacific Group andWarburg Pincus.[18]
The "Neiman-Marcus Collection," comprising early account books, advertising and Christmas Catalog layouts, files on charity activities, past awards and presentations, and a collection of Stanley Marcus's personal memorabilia, among many other items, is located in the Texas & Dallas History & Archives Division, 7th Floor, Main Library, Dallas Public Library, where it may be consulted by researchers.
In August 2013,Women's Wear Daily reported Neiman Marcus Group was preparing for aninitial public offering of its stock.[19] In October 2013, the Neiman Marcus Group was sold for $6 billion toAres Management and theCanada Pension Plan Investment Board.[20][21] In August 2015, the company again announced it was preparing for an initial public offering.[22] In late 2015 Neiman Marcus became a stand-alone company.
In November 2013 the firm discovered a 25-caratrough diamond off Namibia's coast, which was valued with a reserve price tag of $1.85 million. The diamond was referred to as the "Nam Diamond".[23]
In 2018 Geoffroy van Raemdonck replaced Karen Katz as CEO.[24]
In April 2019, Neiman Marcus acquired a minority stake inFashionphile, an online resale platform for handbags, jewelry and accessories.[25][26][27]
Neiman Marcus Group, Ltd. LLC and 23 affiliated debtors filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in May 2020.[28] The debtors requested joint administration of the cases under Case No. 20-32519. According to the company's CEO, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, the filing was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The company's website, mytheresa.com, was not part of the bankruptcy.[29]At the end of September 2020, Neiman Marcus exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and as of 2022 is owned by a consortium of investment firms (Davidson Kempner Capital Management,Sixth Street Partners andPacific Investment Management).[30]
In July 2021,mytheresa was spun off and filed for IPO on the NYSE, valuing it at $2.2 billion which increased to $3 billion during the first day of trading.[31]
In August 2020, it announced the closing of five stores:Mazza Gallerie inWashington D.C.;Hudson Yards inNew York City;The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale; Worth Avenue inPalm Beach, Florida; andDowntown Bellevue nearSeattle.[32]
In June 2022, Neiman Marcus Group reported their highest sales volume in almost half of their stores, and sales of their 20 best-selling brands grew by 70% above pre-COVID levels in 2019. The company has also been attracting younger customers, with the average age falling by seven years from pre-pandemic levels, from the mid-40s to the high-30s.[33]
In December 2024, Neiman Marcus was acquired as part of the $2.7BNeiman Marcus Group acquisition bySaks Global.[34]
In February 2025, Neiman Marcus announced it would close its flagship store in Downtown Dallas on March 31, 2025, after nearly 120 years. After Dallas city officials intervened the store remains open.[35]
In September 2025 it was announced thatThe Shops at Willow Bend store would close in January 2027.[36]
Neiman Marcus is still in operation today under the original name and is still headquartered in Dallas, where it was founded. The Neiman Marcus Group comprises the Specialty Retail stores division including Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman. These retailers offerluxury apparel, accessories, jewelry, beauty and decorative home products. As of mid-2022 the company operates 36 Neiman Marcus stores in the United States and two Bergdorf Goodman stores inManhattan.[37] Neiman Marcus' largest market is theSouth Florida MSA, where they operate five stores. The company also operates five "Last Call" clearance centers and the online luxury furniture outlet Horchow.com."[38][39]
The Neiman Marcus Group owned majority interest inKate Spade LLC, a manufacturer of handbags and accessories. In October 2006, the company purchased all minority interest for approximately $59.4 million, and in November 2006 sold 100% ownership toLiz Claiborne, Inc. for approximately $121.5 million. Another divestiture was a majority interest in Gurwitch Products LLC, which manufacturesLaura Mercier cosmetics, to Alticor Inc., for approximately $40.8 million.[40]
In 2013, Neiman Marcus settled a federal claim for falsely claiming that some of their products containedfake fur when tests by theHumane Society of the United States showed it was actually real fur fromraccoon dogs. Neiman Marcus did not admit guilt, but promised to adhere to federal fur labeling laws (theFur Act) for the next twenty years.[41]
In 2014, Neiman Marcus acquired German luxury fashion e-commerce platformmytheresa.com and its flagship store Theresa from its founders Christoph and Susanne Botschen andventure capital firmActon Capital Partners. The luxury fashion online store ships worldwide and offers designer clothing, shoes, bags and accessories for women.[42][43]
In 2019, Neiman Marcus creditor, Marble Ridge Capital, had a lawsuit against Neiman Marcus dismissed after the claim of inappropriate transfer of the company's MyTheresa assets was dismissed by aTexas judge due to lack ofsubject-matter jurisdiction.[44]
In March 2020, Neiman Marcus Group launched an app called NM Connect, which allows salespeople to communicate directly with customers via texts, email, phone and video calls.[45]
In June 2021, Neiman Marcus Group acquired Stylyze, an e-commerce platform, to expand the company's e-commerce capabilities.[46] Users connect to Neiman Marcus Group using the proprietary app Connect.[47]
In April 2022,Farfetch Limited agreed to a $200 million minority investment in the Neiman Marcus Group,[48] aiming to stimulate growth through the stores' use of Farfetch's "Platform Solutions" e-commerce marketplace.[46][49]
TheNeiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was established in 1938 and awarded annually until 2016. In November 2022,[50][51] it was announced that the award would return in 2023.[52][53] Two new awards were introduced in 2023: theNeiman Marcus Award for Creative Impact in the Field of Fashion, andInnovation in the Field of Fashion.[54] Past award recipients include:Christian Dior in 1947,[55]Coco Chanel in 1957,[56]Carolina Herrera in 2016[57] andBrunello Cucinelli in 2023.[58]
Since 1939, Neiman Marcus has issued an annual Christmas catalog, which gets much free publicity from the national media for a tradition of unusual and extravagant gifts not sold in its stores. Some have included the "his and hers" themed items, trips and cars (see below).
In 1952, Stanley Marcus introduced a new tradition of having extravagant and unusual gifts in each year's Christmas catalog,The Christmas Book. The idea was sparked when journalistEdward R. Murrow contacted Marcus to ask if the store would be offering anything unusual that might interest his radio listeners. Marcus invented on the spot an offering of a liveBlack Angus bull accompanied by asterling silverbarbecue cart, and the catalog was subsequently altered to include this item, priced at $1,925.[59][60][61] At one point, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog carried the distinction of being the item most stolen from recipients' mailboxes, prompting aChicago postmaster to suggest the company switch to enclosing the catalogs in plain brown wrappers.[62]: 22–25
Neiman's fantasy gifts in the Christmas Book have included a $20 millionsubmarine,mummy cases that contained an actual mummy, seats fromEbbets Field, and a $1.5 millionCobalt Valkyrie-X plane; the most expensive item was aBoeing Business Jet for over $35 million.[63]
In 1961, Neiman-Marcus in Dallas was one of two stores in the nation — the other beingWanamaker's inPhiladelphia — to offer computer-based assistance in selecting Christmas gifts. The process worked by comparing information on the recipient to a computerizedlist of the 2,200 items available at Neiman-Marcus, then providing a printout of the 10 best suggestions. One person testing the computer filled out the questionnaire as if he were PresidentJohn F. Kennedy shopping for gifts in excess of $1,000 forhis wife; the computer suggested ayacht.[64]
During theApollo 8 mission in December 1968, Marilyn Lovell, wife ofastronautJim Lovell, who was the Command Module Pilot, received, as a Christmas present, amink coat that was delivered to her by a Neiman Marcus driver in aRolls-Royce car. The coat was wrapped in royal blue wrapping paper with twoStyrofoam balls — one for the Earth and the other for the Moon — and had a card that read, "To Marilyn, from the Man in the Moon."[65]: 50-51
In 2012, Neiman Marcus partnered withTarget Corporation to create a holiday collection featuring 24 designers from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). The 50-piece collection featured apparel, accessories and even some gifts for dogs.[66]
In 2024, Neiman Marcus suffered a data breach and extortion attempt as part of the Snowflake mass hacking campaign. The data stolen included information from both Neiman Marcus and Bergdof Goodman companies, including personally identifiable information (PII) nearly 30 million Neiman Marcus customers. The stolen data also included partial credit card numbers, and purchase history for all of the store's online customers, and more than 12 million customer gift card numbers. Neiman Marcus filed regulatory documents in Maine and Vermont.[67][68]
Dating back as early as the 1930s, rumors started to circulate about a woman and her daughter who were out to lunch at Neiman Marcus and for dessert shared a chocolate chip cookie that they loved so much they asked the server for the recipe. The server said that the recipe would cost "two fifty" and the woman agreed. However, she was in disbelief when she was charged $250 for the recipe instead of what she thought would be $2.50. The rumor eventually becamexeroxlore and achain letter.[69]
In 1997, after the rumor had progressed to an infamouse-mail forward, the company released a statement that the story was an urban legend. As a sign of good faith, the store also released a version of their cookie recipe for free to all customers to try.[70]
After four months of court proceedings, the Dallas-based luxury retailer will have shed the bulk of its $5 billion debt load and gained new owners, including Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Sixth Street Partners and Pacific Investment Management, the largest shareholder controlling three of the company's seven board seats.
The small bit of excitement the families provided did not occur until early the next morning, Christmas Day, when a Rolls-Royce from the Neiman Marcus department store pulled up at the front drive of the Lovell household.
Department stores in the United States | |
|---|---|
| Current | |
| Defunct | |
| Online only | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
