Neiman Marcus could split into three different businesses as part of a corporate restructuring that would separate its website from its brick-and-mortar stores.
As The New York Post reported on Wednesday (Dec. 15), the plans – which would also involve a spinoff of Bergdorf Goodman – would likely not lead to any significant changes, at least from the customer’s point of view. Rather, sources said that Neiman seems to want to capitalize on the potential of its website by freeing it from the struggles of its physical stores. The retailer is apparently mirroring Saks Fifth Avenue’s moves when it landed $500 million in venture capital to build up its website.
Read more: Saks eCommerce IPO Plans Show Allure of Retail’s Digital Shift
As PYMNTS has previously reported, Saks – the eCommerce side of the Saks Fifth Avenue business – is considering a public offering that could arrive in 2022, with a valuation that could top $6 billion.
Sources say Neiman has been talking to AlixPartners, the same consulting firm Saks Fifth Avenue used in its move. That firm also worked with Macy’s, another department store looking to spin off its eCommerce operations.
Neiman hired J.P. Morgan earlier this year as it began exploring a sale of Bergdorf Goodman. The bank recently presented a plan to sell off divisions of that store, one source told the Post. “J.P. Morgan spent months and months on this plan, and Neiman Marcus just hired people to execute it,” the source said.
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Read more: Neiman Marcus Emerges From Chapter 11
Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy in May of 2020, sayingn that COVID had put “inexorable pressure” on its business.
After emerging from bankruptcy protection in September of that year, the company focused on scaling back its brick-and-mortar sales in favor of digital operations. This shift predated the pandemic and the bankruptcy, but heated up as Neiman pledged to invest $85 million in its supply chain and purchased the merchandising-as-a-service platform Stylyze.
