What Would Mr. Stanley Do?
Have big luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus lost their focus? Former Neiman’s exec Tony Briggle thinks so. In an in-depth look at Dallas’ battered Neiman Marcus Group in the latest D CEO magazine, Briggle says: “You walk into the second floor of Neiman’s and see racks and racks of $10,000 dresses marked down to $5,000–and pretty soon they begin to look like the $500 dresses you’d find at Dillard’s. By compromising the way they display to customers, they’re turning the customers off.”
In the main D CEO story by Diana Kunde, a former business reporter at The Dallas Morning News, Neiman’s current management style is compared to management under the late, great Stanley Marcus. (For much more on the legendary Mr. Stanley and Neiman’s, BTW, check out a fascinating new book by Thomas E. Alexander, a former Neiman’s executive VP. Alexander will talk with author/journalist Rena Peterson about his book, Stanley Marcus: The Relentless Reign of a Merchant Prince, on Jan. 31 at Fair Park.)
As Alexander, Briggle, and others have pointed out, Mr. Stanley was a tough taskmaster who pushed his staff to be creative, insisted on consistency, truly listened to customers, and worked tirelessly to make shopping at Neiman’s a unique experience. Crazy thought: maybe the current regime should re-dedicate itself to his example.
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5 comments
Very nice story, Glenn. Wish you would post more business news and info on this blog.
My take is that NM expanded too fast and too much in order to attract those “aspirational” customers. H
ow are they going to get them back when Bluefly.com and others are eating their lunch?
Something that wasn’t mentioned in this article. The ADVERTISING. Ever since this investor group took over Neimans, all of the print pieces (from mailed post cards to their magazine ads) became bland and generic. In the past, their print pieces had been fun, unique, and whimsical. They gave the impression that your visit to Neimans would be beyond your imagination. Definitely not so now. Target has much better ads.
In my opinion, when you have investors, managers, and buyers with MBAs focusing on the spread sheets, you can expect generic homogenous merchandise. Even if the merchandise has a well known brand name and is expensive does not make it “special”. Stanley had an impeccably unique, and creative eye. He would take risks and bring in little known designers. This is definitely not the case now.
This is a hot button for me. Neimans has fallen into the pit of MBA mediocrity that has befallen every other business purchased for its uniqueness & individuality. As soon as the contracts are signed, the spreadsheet jockeys start applying their penny-nickel-dime logic, usually transforming the business from what was purchased to an entity that bears no relationship to the original. Recently ate at a local restaurant (part of small family owned chain) known for its unique homey menu. It was purchased by a large food conglomerate, who immediately changed the bread, appetizers, & main menu selections – all the time trumpeting that they made the purchase because of its brand uniqueness. Bunk. Guess how similar the local menus are now to the mothership? Perfectly aligned. Yuck!
Post Script – I know he is busy at the Dallas Fashion Center this week with the January Apparel & Accessory Market, but I would be interested in Rawlins Gilliland’s take on the current Neimans situation.
Over the last 2 years, Neimans has taken promotional gimmicks to a new level. For a while there, every week it was another promotion – i.e. spend $500 and get $100 off next purchase. I can’t see Mr. Stanley ever going for this sort of thing – it’s very similar to Macy’s and Dillards promos. Nothing differentiates Neimans anymore. Give me forty five ten or Barneys for TRUE style.