Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox company | name = Neiman Marcus | logo = Neiman Marcus logo.svg | caption = Neiman Marcus | type = Private | industry = [[Retail]] | foundation = September 10, 1907 | location_city = [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]] | location_country = [[United States]] | locations = 42 | key_people = * [[Carrie Marcus Neiman]] <small>(Co-Founder, Chair of Board)</small> * [[Herbert Marcus]] <small>(Co-Founder, CEO)</small> * [[Abraham Lincoln Neiman]] <small>(Co-Founder)</small> * [[Minnie Lichtenstein Marcus]] <small>(Vice President of Horticulture, Emeritus Benefactor)</small> * [[Stanley Marcus]] <small>(CEO, Chair of Board, Emeritus Benefactor)</small> * [[Lawrence Marcus]] <small>(Women's Department Vice President, Emeritus Benefactor)</small> | products = Clothing, footwear, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares | owner= [[Ares Management]] <br> [[CPP Investment Board]] | homepage = {{URL|neimanmarcus.com}} }} [[File:Neimanmarcusdallas02.jpg|thumb]] [[FUndid revision 711571735 by [[Special:Contributions/ScrapIronIV|ScrapIronIV]] ([[User talk:ScrapIronIV|talk]])file:Neiman Marcus Flagship Interior.jpg|thumb|Flagship Store Interior]] [[File:Neimanmarcus.JPG|thumb]] '''Neiman Marcus''', originally '''Neiman-Marcus''', is an American luxury specialty [[department store]] owned by [[CPP Investment Board]] and [[Ares Management]].<ref>http://www.cppib.com/en/public-media/headlines/2013/cppib-ares-neiman.html</ref> The company also owns the [[Bergdorf Goodman]] department stores, and operates a direct marketing division, Neiman Marcus Direct, which operates catalogue and online operations under the Horchow, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman names. In the US, Neiman Marcus competes with luxury retailers such as [[Nordstrom]], [[Saks Fifth Avenue]], [[Lord & Taylor]], and [[Bloomingdale's]]. ==History== ===Founding and early history=== [[File:Neiman Marcus flagship store 01.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Neiman Marcus Building]] is the headquarters and flagship store in [[Dallas, Texas]].]] [[Herbert Marcus]], Sr., a former buyer with Dallas' [[Sanger Brothers]] department store, had left his previous job to found a new business with his sister [[Carrie Marcus Neiman]] and her husband, A.L. Neiman, then employees of Sanger Brothers competitor [[A. Harris and Co.]]. In 1907 the trio found themselves with $25,000 from the successful sales-promotion firm they had built in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], and two potential investments into which to invest the funds. Rather than take a chance on an unknown "sugary soda pop business", the three entrepreneurs rejected the fledgling [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola company]]<ref name="HandbookALN">{{Handbook of Texas|id=fne32|name=Neiman, Abraham Lincoln}}</ref> and chose instead to return to Dallas to found 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".<ref name="Schack">William Schack, "Neiman-Marcus of Texas" (article), ''Commentary'' 24:3, 213, September 1957.</ref> 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 a nationwide financial panic set off only a few weeks after its opening, Neiman Marcus was instantly successful, and its first several years of operation were quite profitable.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Neiman-Marcus-Group-Inc-Company-History.html |title=History of The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. – FundingUniverse |publisher=Fundinguniverse.com |date= |accessdate=2012-12-10}}</ref> In 1914 a fire destroyed the Neiman Marcus store and all of its merchandise. A temporary store was set up and opened in 17 days.<ref name="nmoverview">[http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/service/company_overview.jhtml;jsessionid=MJTBGRZOT1KBECQAAKHRABY Historical timeline], from Neiman Marcus Online</ref> By the end of 1914, Neiman Marcus opened in its new, permanent location at the corner of Main Street and Ervay Street. With the opening of the flagship [[Neiman 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.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com"/> In 1927 the store expanded and Neiman Marcus premiered the first weekly retail fashion show in the United States.<ref name="timeline">[http://www.texasmonthly.com/2002-03-01/webextra5.php Stanley Marcus Timeline] ''Texas Monthly'', March 2002</ref> The store staged a show called "One Hundred Years of Texas Fashions" in 1936 in honor of the [[centennial]] of [[San Jacinto Day|Texas' 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 of ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', expressing the sentiment of the store's starry-eyed clientele, told the local press:<ref name="schack216">Schack, p. 216.</ref> {{quotation|I dreamed all my life of the perfect store for women. Then I saw Neiman Marcus, and my dream came true.|Edna Woolman Chase, editor of ''Vogue'' (1936)|quoted in ''Commentary'' 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 the [[Great Depression]] and following war years. Between 1942 and 1944, sales at Neiman Marcus grew from $6 million to $11 million.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com"/> Despite a major fire in 1946, the store continued to profit. Herbert Marcus, Sr., died in 1950, and Carrie Neiman died two years later, leaving [[Stanley Marcus]] in charge of the company's operations.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com"/><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890689,00.html | work=Time | title=FASHIONS: Mr. Stanley Knows Best | date=September 21, 1953}}</ref> ===1950s–90s=== The 1950s saw the addition of a $1.6 million store at 8300 [[Preston Road]] (in the Preston Center; the location currently occupied by the Tootsies store). It was {{convert|63,000|sqft|m2|adj=on}}, "inspired by the art and culture of Southwestern Indians" and "colors ... copied from Indian weaving, pottery, and sand paintings". The themed decor included [[Kachina doll|Kachina figures]] on colored-glass murals and an [[Alexander Calder]] [[Mobile (sculpture)|mobile]] named "Mariposa,"<ref name=tolbert53>[[Frank X. Tolbert]]. ''Neiman-Marcus, Texas'', New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1953, page 5.</ref> 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 20 [[Paul 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.<ref name="tolbert-11">Tolbert, 1953, page 11.</ref> In the 1950s and 1960s [[Gittings]] operated a portrait studio in Neiman Marcus. Clients included [[Hope Portocarrero]], [[Lyndon Johnson]], [[Howard Hughes]], and the [[Pahlavi dynasty|Shah of Iran]], [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] and his family. A late 1960s Christmas Book featured portraits of [[Wyatt Cooper]], his wife [[Gloria Vanderbilt]], and children Carter and [[Anderson 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.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://smu.edu/newsinfo/excerpts/fortnight-annotations-spring2007.asp |title=Neiman Marcus Fortnight - News and Communications - SMU |publisher=Smu.edu |date=2007-10-21 |accessdate=2012-12-10}}</ref> Neiman Marcus opened its first store outside the [[Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex]] in downtown [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] in 1957. The freestanding store was later replaced with a new anchor store located in the [[Houston 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.<ref name="fundinguniverse.com"/> 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 in [[Bal Harbour, Florida]]. In subsequent years stores opened in over 30 cities across the United States, including [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Chicago, IL|Chicago]], [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], [[Minneapolis, MN|Minneapolis]], [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. 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 upscale [[Tower City Center]]. However, the project did not come to fruition, instead opening its concept store in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7529657.html|title=Neiman Marcus in pact for new Cleveland store. (Neiman Marcus Group Inc.)|work=highbeam.com}}</ref> In 1988 the company's name was officially changed from Neiman-Marcus to Neiman Marcus and the current logo was adopted. [[Image:Neiman Marcus Boston.jpg|right|thumb|Neiman Marcus in [[Boston]]'s [[Copley Place]]]] In the late 1990s, the company started a small boutique called the "Galleries of Neiman Marcus" which sold jewelry, gifts, and home accessories. The concept struggled and ultimately all three locations, [[Seattle]], [[Cleveland]], and [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], were shuttered. In 1999, neimanmarcus.com, and the store's online gift registry, debuted under the control of Neiman Marcus Group's Neiman Marcus Direct division. ===2000s–present=== [[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, including [[vicuña]] coats, a pair of airplanes, "[[Noah's Ark]]"{{Failed verification|date=October 2012}} (including pairs of animals), camels, and live tigers.<ref name="Schack" /><ref name="nmoverview" /><ref name="aaf">{{cite web|url=http://www.advertisinghalloffame.org/members/member_bio.php?memid=702&uflag=m&uyear= |title=Stanley Marcus, Advertising Hall of Fame |publisher=Advertisinghalloffame.org |date=2012-09-07 |accessdate=2012-12-10}}</ref> Over the last 20 years, ownership of Neiman Marcus has passed through several hands. In June 1987, the company was [[Corporate spin-off|spun off]] from its retail parent, [[Carter Hawley Hale Stores]], and became a publicly listed company. [[General Cinema]], later to become [[Harcourt General]], still had a roughly 60% controlling interest until 1999, when Neiman Marcus was fully spun off from its [[parent company]]. On May 2, 2005, Neiman Marcus Group was the subject of a [[leveraged buyout]] (LBO), selling itself to two [[private equity]] firms, [[Texas Pacific Group]] and [[Warburg Pincus]].<ref name="CNNmoney">[http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/02/news/midcaps/neiman_marcus/index.htm Neiman Marcus in $5.1B buyout] CNN Money, May 2, 2005</ref> 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 that the Neiman Marcus Group was prepearing for an [[initial public offering]] of its stock.<ref name="WWD nm 2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/financial/neiman-marcus-inches-closer-to-ipo-7079656?module=hp-retail | title=Neiman Marcus Inches Closer to IPO | publisher=WWD | date=August 7, 2013 | accessdate=7 August 2013 | author=Moin, David}}</ref> In October 2013, the Neiman Marcus Group was sold for $6 billion to [[Ares Management]] and the [[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board]].<ref name="Sale for 6 Billion 2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/financial/neiman-marcus-profits-rise-7168185?src=nl/newsAlert/20130919-4 | title=Neiman Marcus Profits Rise | publisher=WWD | date=19 September 2013 | accessdate=19 September 2013 | author=Moin, David}}</ref><ref name="Neiman's Deal Nearly Done">{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/department-stores/neimans-deal-nearly-done-7248309?src=nl/newsAlert/20131025-1 | title=Neiman's Deal Nearly Done | publisher=WWD | date=25 October 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Moin, David}}</ref> In August 2015, the company again announced it was preparing for an initial public offering.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20150804-neiman-marcus-files-for-initial-public-offering-of-stock.ece | title=Neiman Marcus files for initial public offering of stock | publisher=The Dallas Morning News | date=August 4, 2015 | accessdate=12 August 2015 | author=Halkias, Maria}}</ref> Neiman Marcus made headlines in November 2013 after the firm discovered a 25-carat rough 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”.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://allafrica.com/stories/201311260446.html | title= Nam Diamond Selling for N$18 Million | year = 2013 | publisher = [[AllAfrica.com]] | publication-place = [[Africa]] }}</ref> ==Corporate affairs== [[Image:Dallas Renaissance Tower 1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Renaissance Tower (Dallas)|Renaissance Tower]] is the headquarters of the Neiman Marcus Group, also in Dallas.]] Unlike many of its department-store contemporaries, Neiman Marcus is still in operation today under the original name and is still headquartered in the city where it began. '''The Neiman Marcus Group''' comprises the Specialty Retail stores division — which includes Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman — Cusp (a contemporary boutique format) and the Direct Marketing division, Neiman Marcus Direct. These retailers offer upscale assortments of apparel, accessories, [[jewelry]], beauty and decorative home products. The company operates 41 Neiman Marcus stores across the United States and two Bergdorf Goodman stores, in [[Manhattan]]. Neiman Marcus' largest market is the [[South Florida metropolitan area|South Florida MSA]], where they operate five stores. The company also operates 28 '''''Last Call''''' clearance centers and two Horchow Finale Furniture Outlets. These store operations total more than five million square feet (500,000 m²) gross. Competitors in the luxury retail segment include [[Bloomingdale's]], [[Lord & Taylor]], [[Saks Fifth Avenue]], [[Barneys New York]], and [[Nordstrom]]. Neiman Marcus Direct conducts both print catalog and online operations under the Neiman Marcus, Horchow and Bergdorf Goodman brand names. Under the Neiman Marcus brand, Neiman Marcus Direct primarily offers women's apparel, accessories and home furnishings. Horchow offers upscale home furnishings, linens, decorative accessories and tabletop items. They have also launched a new blog [(www.insite.neimanmarcus.com)] outlining the latest news in the fashion world and beyond. Until recently, The Neiman Marcus Group owned majority interest in [[Kate 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 to [[Liz Claiborne]], Inc. for approximately $121.5 million. Another recent divestiture was a majority interest in Gurwitch Products LLC, which manufactures Laura Mercer <ref>[http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_dcc949ce-c41c-5370-a79f-6834b8378517.htmlier]</ref> cosmetics, to Alticor Inc., for approximately $40.8 million.<ref> [http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/service/company_overview.jhtml;jsessionid=MJTBGRZOT1KBECQAAKHRABY Form 10-Q], from Neiman Marcus website March 8, 2007</ref> ==The Christmas Book== ==="His and Hers" and "Fantasy" gifts=== [[Image:Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog-100th Anniversary Edition.jpg|thumb|right|100th Anniversary Edition Christmas catalog 2007]] [[Image:1969 Neiman Marcus Kitchen Computer.jpg|thumb|right|In 1969 customers could buy a $10,600 kitchen computer to help with recipes]] 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 journalist [[Edward 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 live [[Black Angus]] bull accompanied by a [[sterling silver]] [[barbecue]] cart, subsequently altering the catalog to include his new idea, priced at $1,925.<ref name="ratliff">Rick Ratliff, Knight News Service, "The ultimate present: 2 Texas firms take pride in unusual gift offerings," The Lima News (Lima, Ohio), November 24, 1977</ref><ref name="mouseranch">"Mouse ranch — perfect Christmas gift," UPI story, ''The News'' (Port Arthur, Texas), October 6, 1974 — gives 1955 as date of introduction</ref><ref name="johnson">Tom Johnson, "Junk for Xmas At $11,700," ''The Gettysburg Times'' (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania), December 23, 1966</ref> At one point, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog carried the distinction of being the item most stolen from recipients' mailboxes, prompting a Chicago postmaster to suggest the company switch to enclosing the catalogs in plain brown wrappers.<ref name="raphel">Murray Raphel. "An interview with Stanley Marcus," ''Direct Marketing'', Vol. 58, No. 6, October 1995, pp. 22-25.</ref> ===Other Christmas gifts=== In 1961, Neiman-Marcus in Dallas was one of two stores in the nation — the other being [[Wanamaker's]] in [[Philadelphia]] — to offer computer-based assistance in selecting Christmas gifts. The process worked by comparing information on the recipient to a computerized list 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 President [[John F. Kennedy]] shopping for gifts in excess of $1,000 for [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|his wife]]; the computer suggested a [[yacht]].<ref name="parade1961">"Santa Claus Has a New Helper", ''Parade'', December 24, 1961</ref> During the [[Apollo 8]] mission in December 1968, Marilyn Lovell, wife of [[astronaut]] [[Jim Lovell]], who was the Command Module Pilot, received, as a Christmas present, a [[mink|mink coat]] that was delivered to her by a Neiman Marcus driver in a [[Rolls-Royce car]]. The coat was wrapped in [[royal blue]] wrapping paper with two [[Styrofoam]] 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."<ref name="apollo13book">Jim Lovell with Jeffrey Kluger. ''Apollo 13'' (previously published as ''[[Lost Moon]]''), 2000, pages 50-51.</ref> In 2012, Neiman Marcus partnered up with [[Target 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2012/11/25/first-look-check-out-the-target-x-neiman-marcus-holiday-designer-collection-2012/|title=First Look: Check Out The Target x Neiman Marcus Holiday Designer Collection 2012|publisher=DrJays.com |date=25 November 2012 |accessdate=26 November 2012}}</ref> ==Controversy== In 2013, Neiman Marcus settled a federal claim for falsely claiming that some of their products contained [[fake fur]] when tests by the [[Humane Society of the United States]] showed it was actually real fur from [[raccoon dog]]s. Neiman Marcus did not admit guilt, but promised to adhere to federal fur labeling laws (the [[Fur Act]]) for the next twenty years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/neiman-marcus-settles-faux-fur-case/2013/03/19/f6d41d08-90c7-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html |title=Neiman Marcus settles ‘faux’ fur case |publisher=Washington Post |date=March 19, 2013}}</ref> {{clear}} ==Store locations== [[File:Neiman Marcus footprint.png|thumb|350px|Neiman Marcus footprint]] {{Div col|4}} *[[Atlanta]] *[[Austin]] *[[Bal Harbour, Florida]] *[[Bellevue, Washington]] *[[Beverly Hills]] *[[Boca Raton, Florida]] *[[Boston]] *[[Canoga Park, California]] *[[Charlotte]] *[[Chicago]] *[[Coral Gables, Florida]] *[[Dallas]] *[[Denver]] *[[Fairfax, Virginia]] *[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]] *[[Fort Worth]] *[[Garden City, New York]] *[[Honolulu]] *[[Houston]] *[[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]] *[[Las Vegas]] *[[McLean, Virginia]] *[[Natick, Massachusetts]] *[[Newport Beach, California]] *[[Orlando]] *[[Palm Beach, Florida]] *[[Palo Alto, California]] *[[Paramus, New Jersey]] *[[Plano, Texas]] *[[San Antonio]] *[[San Diego]] *[[San Francisco]] *[[Scottsdale, Arizona]] *[[Short Hills, New Jersey]] *[[St. Louis]] *[[Tampa]] *[[Troy, Michigan]] *[[Walnut Creek, California]] *[[Washington, D.C.]] *[[White Plains, New York]] {{Div col end}} Chicago, Dallas, and Houston all feature more than one store location within each city. ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{Portal|Dallas}} {{Commons category}} *[http://www.neimanmarcus.com Neiman Marcus] *[http://www.neimanmarcusgroup.com Neiman Marcus Group] *[http://www.neimanmarcus.com/assistance/assistance.jsp?itemId=cat33940741Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe] *[http://www.lastcall.com Last Call by Neiman Marcus] *[http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com/2012/03/neiman-marcus-dallas-texas.html The Department Store Museum: Neiman Marcus] {{Leonard Green}} [[Category:Clothing retailers of the United States]] [[Category:Companies based in Dallas, Texas]] [[Category:Companies established in 1907]] [[Category:Privately held companies in the United States]] [[Category:Department stores of the United States]] [[Category:1907 establishments in Texas]]'