Burton Tansky, the 71-year-old rag-trade journeyman who has led Neiman Marcus Group for nearly a decade, is quietly refashioning the upscale department store chain for an age of belt-tightening and less conspicuous consumption, reports Wall Street Journal today.
Mr. Tansky, Neiman's chairman and CEO, is pressing suppliers to produce lower-priced versions of designer styles, a stark reversal for a chain long labeled "Needless Markup" by more frugal-minded shoppers.
The WSJ article continues: "Neiman "worked with a number of vendors and designers, both in America and Europe, to see if we couldn't create for our customers optional price points," Mr. Tansky said. "We moved as fast as we could for fall" in bringing in the lower-priced items, he added. "But we had a greater time to plan" for spring 2010, so "you'll see more."
The less costly replicas of high-end designer goods are critical to turning around the chain's declining sales and earnings. Neiman Marcus and its New York flagship Bergdorf Goodman store have been traditionally among the most successful of retailers in sales per square foot. But the retailer has struggled through 18 months of declining monthly comparable-store sales, and the company is saddled by $3 billion in debt.
Read the rest of the article here.
An interesting strategy, but one I'd question. I know they've made an investment in promoting these designers, but often times you are better off finding those brands that specialize in more aggressive price points.
Often times the results feel forced when you have a designer who is not used to thinking in terms of cost restrictions attempting to reshape their designs.
Making affordable exciting is no easy feat and takes a special skill set. It will be interesting to see how this strategy plays out...
Posted by: twitter.com/MSchechter | December 10, 2009 at 04:01 PM