With the recent news around Saks Global, it feels timely to revisit a pillar of American luxury retail: Neiman Marcus. Luxury retail has long been as intrinsic to Texas as oil.
🎥 I highly recommend watching the short documentary Neiman Marcus: Last of the Merchant Kings, view below. The comments alone are a case study—filled with memories from loyal clients & former employees who experienced a service culture that felt human, elevated, & enduring.
In an era of consolidation & financial engineering, the history Neiman Marcus remains a powerful reminder of what luxury service and management truly looks like. Generational wealth creation in the state of Texas has historically translated into demand for luxury defined not by excess, but by discretion, quality, & service.
Founded in 1907 by Carrie Marcus Neiman & Herbert Marcus, Neiman Marcus introduced a radically different proposition to the region—superior customer service, curated quality, & access to global luxury not previously available. In doing so, the brand didn’t simply respond to demand; it educated the Texas consumer, shaping how wealth was expressed through sophistication rather than spectacle.
As Stanley Marcus famously stated:
“Profits were never the goal—service was.”
The result? Profitability in every year of the company’s early history. The inflection point came after the company was sold, when financial optimization increasingly eclipsed service-led leadership.
A few milestones worth reflecting on:
- 1918: $1M in revenue, 1 store
- 1969: Sold with 4 stores, all in Texas
- 1989: $1B in revenue
- 2024: ~$4.5B in total revenue, including Bergdorf Goodman + MyTheresa
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