Two key stores reopened their doors for shoppers on Thursday.
Neiman Marcus opened two locations on Thursday — Northpark Center in Dallas and Lenox Square mall in Atlanta — for full in-store shopping.
The Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group closed all of its stores in mid-March due to the coronavirus and filed for bankruptcy on May 7. A hearing on debtor-in-possession financing is scheduled for Monday.
The Neiman Marcus Group luxury retail fleet includes 43 Neiman Marcus stores and two Bergdorf Goodman stores. Aside from the Northpark and Lenox Square units, none of the other stores have yet to reopen for full in-store shopping, in some cases because of local restrictions on openings.
Currently, 38 Neiman Marcus stores and the two Bergdorf stores offer curbside pickups. Also, several Neiman Marcus and the Bergdorf stores are also providing private shopping by appointment.
According to Amber Seikaly, vice president of corporate communications for the Neiman Marcus Group, about 90 percent of the store fleet is open to some degree or another, with either curbside pickup, private appointment or full shopping, or some combination of those. “We are trying to do this in a very measured and smart way,” Seikaly said.
Neiman Marcus is considering pulling out of Hudson Yards in Manhattan, or downsizing the site, among other potential closings by the luxury retailer around the country.
It’s possible that NMG decides to keep some of its stores closed permanently as part of a plan of restructuring involving streamlining the business currently being formulated.
“Our restructuring plan is focused on alleviating our debt load, not mass store closures,” Seikaly said earlier this when asked about plans for Hudson Yards. “We are confident in the performance of our overall store footprint. In fact, stores that have been open for more than a year prior to COVID-19 are four-wall EBITDA positive. That said, we always assess our stores based on our footprint to ensure it is optimal to enhance revenues and overall profitability, as well as how each store can best support our omnichannel strategy.”
