Neiman Marcus facts for kids
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Neiman Marcus Building, the flagship store and headquarters in Downtown Dallas, 2011
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| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 10, 1907 in Dallas, Texas, United States |
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Dallas, Texas
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United States
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Number of locations
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36 (2024) |
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Area served
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United States |
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Neiman Marcus is a famous American department store chain. It was started in 1907 in Dallas, Texas. The founders were Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. Since 2024, it has been owned by Saks Global.
Contents
The Story of Neiman Marcus
Starting a Luxury Store (1907–1949)
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Herbert Marcus Sr. and his family decided to open a new business. They had $25,000 from a successful sales company they ran. They had two choices for investing their money. One was a new "sugary soda pop business" (which turned out to be Coca-Cola). The other was to open a fancy retail store in Dallas. They chose the store! Because of this, an early CEO joked that Neiman Marcus was "founded on bad business judgment."
The first store opened on September 10, 1907. It was very fancy and sold high-quality clothes. This kind of clothing was not common in Texas back then. Within a few weeks, all the clothes were sold out! Even though there was a financial crisis in 1907, the store was an instant hit. Wealthy Texans loved having a place to buy stylish fashion.
In 1914, a fire destroyed the store and everything inside. But Neiman Marcus quickly opened a temporary store. By the end of 1914, they opened a new, permanent store. This new building was bigger and offered more items. They added accessories, underwear, and children's clothes. In its first year at the new location, the store made a profit of $40,000.
In 1927, Neiman Marcus started the first weekly fashion show in the United States. In 1936, they held a big show called "One Hundred Years of Texas Fashions." This was to celebrate Texas's independence. A famous editor from Vogue magazine, Edna Woolman Chase, visited. She said, "I dreamed all my life of the perfect store for women. Then I saw Neiman Marcus, and my dream had come true."
The store began selling men's clothing in 1929. During the 1930s and 1940s, Neiman Marcus also started selling some less expensive clothes. This was in response to the Great Depression and the war years. Sales grew a lot during this time.
Growing Across the Country (1950–1999)
After the founders passed away, Stanley Marcus took over the company. He was known for his creative ideas.
In the 1950s, a new store opened in Dallas. It was inspired by the art and culture of Southwestern Native Americans. It had colorful designs and even a sculpture by Alexander Calder. Stanley Marcus also used art to inspire new fabric colors. He once borrowed 20 paintings by Paul Gauguin to help create new dyes.
Neiman Marcus became famous for its "Fortnight" events. These were annual celebrations of fashion and culture from a different country. They brought fashion, important people, celebrities, and exotic food to the Dallas store. These events were very exciting for 29 years.
The company started to expand outside of Dallas. In 1955, they opened a store in Houston. In 1965, a new, much larger store opened at NorthPark Center in Dallas. By 1967, Neiman Marcus had four stores and was making over $2 million in profit each year. In 1968, the company joined with Broadway-Hale Stores, Inc. This helped Neiman Marcus grow even faster.
In 1971, the first Neiman Marcus store outside of Texas opened in Bal Harbour, Florida. Over the years, stores opened in more than 30 cities across the United States. These cities included Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, and San Francisco. In the 1980s, the company dropped the hyphen from its name, becoming "Neiman Marcus."
Changes and Challenges (2000–Present)
Stanley Marcus passed away in 2002. He was known for his amazing fashion shows, art exhibits, and the famous Christmas catalog. This catalog featured wild and unique "His and Hers" gifts.
Over the past 20 years, Neiman Marcus has had several different owners. In 2005, it was bought by two private investment firms. In 2013, it was sold again for $6 billion to Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
In 2019, Neiman Marcus bought a small part of Fashionphile. This is an online platform where people can buy and sell used luxury handbags, jewelry, and accessories.
In May 2020, Neiman Marcus Group filed for bankruptcy. This was mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by September 2020, Neiman Marcus successfully came out of bankruptcy. It is now owned by a group of investment firms.
In 2021, a part of the company called mytheresa became its own separate company. It is now worth billions of dollars.
In August 2020, Neiman Marcus announced it would close five of its stores. However, by June 2022, the company reported its highest sales in many stores. They also noticed that more young customers were shopping there. The average age of their customers dropped by seven years!
In July 2024, Neiman Marcus announced plans to join with Saks Fifth Avenue. This was a big merger worth about $2.65 billion. In December 2024, Neiman Marcus was officially acquired by Saks Global.
In February 2025, Neiman Marcus announced that its original flagship store in Downtown Dallas would close on March 31, 2025. This store had been open for almost 120 years, making it the longest-running Neiman Marcus store ever.
How Neiman Marcus Works Today
Neiman Marcus still operates today under its original name. Its main offices are still in Dallas, Texas, where it all began. The Neiman Marcus Group includes Neiman Marcus stores and Bergdorf Goodman stores. These stores sell luxury clothing, accessories, jewelry, beauty products, and home decor.
As of mid-2022, the company runs 36 Neiman Marcus stores across the United States. It also has two Bergdorf Goodman stores in Manhattan, New York. The area with the most Neiman Marcus stores is South Florida, with five locations. The company also has five "Last Call" clearance centers.
In 2013, Neiman Marcus had a problem with some products that were advertised as "fake fur." Tests showed that the fur was actually real fur from raccoon dogs. Neiman Marcus agreed to follow federal fur labeling laws for the next twenty years.
In 2014, Neiman Marcus bought a German online luxury fashion store called mytheresa.com. This store sells designer clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories for women all over the world.
In March 2020, Neiman Marcus Group launched an app called NM Connect. This app helps salespeople talk directly with customers. They can use texts, emails, phone calls, and video calls. In June 2021, Neiman Marcus Group bought Stylyze, an e-commerce company. This helped them improve their online shopping experience.
In April 2022, Farfetch Limited invested $200 million in the Neiman Marcus Group. This partnership aims to help Neiman Marcus grow its online business.
The Christmas Book
Amazing "His and Hers" Gifts
Since 1939, Neiman Marcus has published a special Christmas catalog every year. This catalog gets a lot of attention because it features very unusual and expensive gifts. These gifts are often not sold in their regular stores. Many of them are "his and hers" themed items, like trips or special cars.
In 1952, Stanley Marcus started the tradition of including extravagant and unique gifts in The Christmas Book. The idea came when a journalist asked if the store had anything unusual. Stanley Marcus quickly thought of offering a live Black Angus bull with a sterling silver barbecue cart! This item was added to the catalog and cost $1,925.
Some of the amazing "fantasy gifts" in the Christmas Book have included a $20 million submarine, mummy cases with actual mummies, and even a private jet for over $35 million!
Other Christmas Ideas
In 1961, Neiman Marcus was one of the first stores to use computers to help customers choose Christmas gifts. You would answer questions about the person you were buying for. Then, the computer would suggest the best gifts from the store's list of items. For example, if you were buying for Jacqueline Kennedy, the computer might suggest a yacht!
During the Apollo 8 space mission in 1968, the wife of astronaut Jim Lovell received a special Christmas gift from Neiman Marcus. It was a mink coat delivered in a Rolls-Royce car. The gift was wrapped in blue paper with two Styrofoam balls, one for Earth and one for the Moon. The card read, "To Marilyn, from the Man in the Moon."
In 2012, Neiman Marcus worked with Target Corporation to create a holiday collection. It featured items from 24 different designers.
Data Security
In 2024, Neiman Marcus experienced a data breach. This meant that some customer information was stolen. The stolen data included personal details for almost 30 million Neiman Marcus customers. It also included partial credit card numbers and purchase history for online shoppers. More than 12 million gift card numbers were also taken. Neiman Marcus worked to address this issue.
The Famous Cookie Recipe Story
For many years, a popular urban legend has been told about Neiman Marcus. The story goes that a woman and her daughter loved a chocolate chip cookie they ate at the store. They asked for the recipe, and the server said it would cost "two fifty." The woman thought it meant $2.50, but she was charged $250!
This rumor became very popular, especially through chain letters and emails. In 1997, Neiman Marcus officially stated that the story was just a legend. To show good faith, the store even shared a version of their cookie recipe for free.
See also
In Spanish: Neiman Marcus para niños
