Neiman Marcus Focuses On Customer, On Omni-Channel
By Hannah Ash, contributing writer
Neiman Marcus Gets Channel-Agnostic Makeover
The Neiman Marcus Group this week announced plans to better align its organization with the omni-channel approach to retail commerce. Senior executives have been moved into positions that reflect Neiman Marcus’s newly strengthened commitment to the seamless customer experience. A total of 187 Neiman Marcus employees will be moving from the Irving, TX warehouse and office facility to its downtown Dallas facility. The move unifies the Neiman Marcus Group and its sales channels to focus on one common goal: winning the customer. “The customer is at the center of everything that we do,” CEO of Neiman Marcus Group Karen Katz previously stated.
With newly expanded roles for two of Neiman Marcus’s key players, the organizational restructuring starts from the the top down. Jim Gold, who served as president of Specialty Retail, has been named president and chief marketing officer, Neiman Marcus, Neiman Marcus Group. In his newly expanded role, Gold will lead an integrated merchant and planning team with general merchandise managers reporting to him. John Koryl, who served as president of Neiman Marcus Online, has been named president, Neiman Marcus Stores and Online, Neiman Marcus Group. Koryl will oversee store operations and sales; E-Commerce Domestic; international operations and sales; site merchandising; site optimization; and, finally, customer care. Divisional Merchandise Manager positions will become omnichannel; buyer roles will remain unchanged.
The luxury retailer has taken huge strides toward reinventing itself as a true omni-channel retailer and crafting a seamless experience for its customers. To streamline online checkout, Gold rolled out an initiative in October of 2013 that allows customers to pay through their Amazon accounts; at that time, Gold also stated that other large changes are on the way for the luxury department store. This approach seems to be paying off: fiscal reports for 2014 indicate online sales were up 10.4 percent while specialty retail sales were up 4.5 percent. Neiman Marcus Group President and CEO Karen Katz states, "Over the years the way our customers shop our stores and websites has changed, and will continue to change with the increasing popularity and convenience of smart phones and tablets. Our customers do not differentiate between channels and now neither will we,” says Karen Katz.