Neiman Marcus Latest To Cut Staff As U.S. Retailers Shed Workforce
When Neiman Marcus Group announced plans to lay off about 5% of its 10,000 employees, or about 500 employees, the company joined a growing list of US retailers laying off staff.
The luxury department store chain is trying to cut costs amid a tough economy and is far from alone as both The RealReal and Tuesday Morning have entered Chapter 11 in recent days and Bed, Bath & Beyond have launched a last-ditch bailout .
In truth, empathy for Neiman Marcus may be quite waning among Main Street shoppers after the company dumped aspiring shoppers for the ultra-rich like a barely-worn party dress.
According to an interview given by Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of the department store’s parent company, the brand is currently focusing on the high-end department store’s customers, who spend $27,000 annually wealth.
“We have decided that we are no longer concerned with market share and we no longer want to sell across the price spectrum from clearance sales to high-end jewellery,” said van Raemdonck. “The business value of this approach is that we get to know our customers better. The economic value is that I avoid churn and price is no longer the primary consideration.”
Everyone changes at Neiman Marcus
In announcing the layoffs, the company also said its chief product & technology officer, Bob Kupbens, will leave while Ryan Ross, president of Neiman Marcus, will lead customer insights for the group. Darcy Penick, President of luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, will lead NMG Product & Technology at the corporate level.
Neiman Marcus and its sister company, Bergdorf Goodman, already attract well-heeled customers, and the top 2% of the group’s customers account for a whopping 40% of their total sales, and 80% of those customers are worth at least $1 million.
The company filed for Chapter 11 early in the pandemic, from which it emerged in fall 2020 with an outlined strategy to focus on wealthier buyers.
But the new round of layoffs means it has joined a growing list of retailers who have confirmed they will be reducing their workforce, including:
AmazonAMZN
The great. After years of expansion Amazon acknowledged that even the company had stretched itself, laying off about 18,000 employees in January, many of whom were focused on the e-commerce giant’s brick-and-mortar business, which continues to struggle.
The RealReal
RealReal said it will cut operating costs through layoffs and store closures. The clothing retail company will lay off around 230 employees or 7% of the workforce, according to an SEC filing. Two flagship stores in San Francisco and Chicago, two convenience stores in Atlanta and Austin, and two offices in Miami and Washington DC will be closed.
Tuesday morning
Again in Chapter 11, Tuesday Morning said it had “too many stores and stores in unprofitable locations,” while berating its lenders. It plans to close 264 of the 464 stores it operates in 39 states to operate from about 200 stores and with inevitable job losses.
Beyond Meat BYND Inc.
The vegan meatmaker said it plans to cut about 200 jobs this year to save about $39 million when it goes plant-based.
WayfairW
The online homewares retail giant shed 1,750 jobs in January, around 10% of its workforce. The majority of the redundancies, around 1,200 jobs, were in companies.
stitch fix
About a fifth of the company’s 1,700 employees were laid off in January. In 2022 it closed its Mohnton Mills, Penn. Attachment.
DoorDash DASH Inc.
The super-fast food delivery company said it will reduce its headcount at the company by about 1,250 employees as the sector experiences a post-pandemic downturn.
bed bath beyondBBBY
The retailer is laying off employees this year to cut costs after a recent round of funding averted Chapter 11 bankruptcy. New funding can provide a platform for growth or postpone the inevitable.
REI
In total, 167 company employees were laid off at the leisure retailer in February, about 8% of employees at the company’s headquarters and 1% of the overall workforce.
Everlane
Clothing brand D2C has been fired 17% of the company’s employees and almost 3% of the retail workforce were laid off.
Saks.com
At least 100 jobs have been eliminated from Saks Fifth Avenue’s e-commerce branch, or about 3.5% of its workforce, and there have been an undisclosed number of layoffs.
Zappos
More than 300 workers, making up around 20% of the workforce, were laid off by the Amazon-owned online shoe brand as part of broader layoffs in January.
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