In a surprising, eleventh-hour reversal, Saks Global has decided to keep its historic Neiman Marcus flagship in downtown Dallas open at least through the holiday 2025 season, WWD has learned.
The Neiman Marcus flagship was expected to close Monday.
But after meetings in the past week between Saks Global executives and officials from the city of Dallas, the decision was made to work together on a plan to “reimagine” the site.
“Potential concepts for the reimagined space include a luxury retail experience, a curated art exhibition, and a fashion and event center. The proposals for the space also include an incubator for fashion design and manufacturing in downtown Dallas,” Saks Global said in a statement Friday morning.
Part of the redevelopment could involve some downsizing of the flagship. It’s unclear, however, whether financial concessions were granted to Saks Global. In any case, the idea would be to fuel greater traffic to the store and the downtown area. The Neiman Marcus flagship has not be a high-volume producer for many years.
“We deeply admire the city’s passion and unwavering dedication to Neiman Marcus’ storied legacy in Dallas. The potential reimagination of this iconic shopping destination reinforces Saks Global’s commitment to redefining the luxury shopping experience,” said Marc Metrick, chief executive officer of Saks Global, in a statement Friday. “As we explore opportunities for the downtown store, along with the planned renovation at the NorthPark store, we will evaluate the opportunity to utilize both locations to serve different customer needs in the Dallas market.” As previously reported, Saks Global is planning a $100 million renovation of the Neiman Marcus store in NorthPark Center, which is about 15 minutes away from downtown Dallas.
“We are excited that Saks Global has decided to keep Neiman Marcus open downtown, as we explore the opportunity to unlock the potential to transform downtown into an international beacon and economic engine for fashion — just as the Neiman Marcus founders intended when they opened the store more than 100 years ago,” said Dallas city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, in her statement. “We look forward to exploring what‘s on the horizon and are committed to continuing our conversations with the Saks Global team.”
Recently, Saks officials have cited “the slow resurgence of the downtown Dallas area over the last several years” and a preference among customers to shop the Neiman Marcus store in NorthPark Center as reasons for shuttering the Dallas flagship. Before acknowledging how business has been challenging in downtown Dallas, however, Saks officials said it received a notice from one landlord to terminate its occupancy downtown after many years in which Neiman Marcus tried to settle a dispute over a parcel of land owned by C.C. Slaughter. Nearly a century ago, Neiman Marcus signed a 99-year ground lease with Slaughter, which expired in January and was extended until the end of March. The dispute was settled and the land underneath the store has several landlords.
Since at least mid-February when Saks made public its intention to close the store — and seemed adamant about it — a group of city officials, known as the Dallas Consortium for the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus, has been urging Saks to keep operating the Neiman’s flagship.
Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas long served as the headquarters for the luxury retailer. However, many executives on the Neiman’s team began working remotely during the pandemic and continued to do so in subsequent years, including some senior executives working in New York City.
Closing the downtown Dallas store would be a step toward Saks Global meeting its plan to cut $500 million in costs over the next few years. Saks Global purchased the Neiman Marcus Group, which includes the Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores and websites, in a $2.7 billion deal finalized in December. To close the deal, Saks Global, led by executive chairman Richard Baker, pulled together some creative financing involving two tech giants, Amazon and Salesforce, and two apparel industry giants, G-III and Authentic Brands Group. Saks also secured a $2.2 billion bond.
Saks plans to close its store on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Fla. soon, and is closely reviewing the Saks and Neiman Marcus store fleets. It’s expected that other stores within the portfolio will be closed, though it’s not clear which ones. One possibility is closing either a Saks or a Neiman Marcus in a shopping center where both retail nameplates operate, such as the Houston Galleria, Town Center at Boca Raton or The Somerset Collection in Troy, Mich., among other locations.
Neiman Marcus is near to the heart of Texans, and the affluent community in Dallas. The flagship opened in 1907 on the intersection of Elm and North Field Streets. It burned down in 1913 and was relocated to 1618 Main Street by Ervay Street in 1914. In December 1964, there was another fire destroying millions of dollars in merchandise, art and antiques, though the store was able to reopen about a month later. Neiman’s has long maintained a valuable art collection. Certain pieces can be seen hung inside Neiman’s locations, and certain pieces were sold off a few years ago. The collection was started by the late, legendary Neiman Marcus impresario Stanley Marcus, son of Herbert Marcus, founder of the luxury retailer along with Carrie Marcus Neiman.
Motivated by sentiment, Texans have flocked to the flagship recently ahead of the expected shutdown, either eager to do some final shopping there, or have a last lunch at the famous Zodiac Room restaurant inside. The restaurant, famous for its popovers with strawberry butter and chicken consommé, serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and has been booked solid in recent weeks. Some people without reservations have been able to get a table by slipping in around 2:30 shortly before the serving stopped. The Zodiac Room has also been the site of fashion shows and charity fundraisers.
From 1957 to 1986, the Neiman Marcus flagship staged Fortnight galas annually, lavishly showcasing country-specific merchandise and welcoming designers, dignitaries and royals, among them HRH Princess Margaret, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, as well as U.S. presidents. Also for decades, the flagship hosted the Neiman Marcus Award, a yearly event recognizing excellence in fashion fields. Giorgio Armani was among the honorees.
“The Dallas store is a special place,” said Ron Frasch, a former senior vice president general merchandise manager of Neiman Marcus who later became CEO of Bergdorf Goodman and president of Saks Fifth Avenue. Frasch said while business has been tough at the store for years, the fur salon, resort areas and fine jewelry were standout departments. “It’s where the women of Dallas bought their furs and wore them on their trips to Aspen,” Frasch said.
According to Kevin Garvin, retired executive chef and vice president of Neiman Marcus Restaurants, the Zodiac Room, opened in 1953, was so named because Stanley Marcus loved Zorro and wanted the restaurant’s name to begin with the letter Z.
Garvin said the Zodiac Room was designed and curated for “an effortless elegant dining experience that allows guests to step into the rich world of Neiman Marcus. It’s not a trendy, hip place. It’s been a multimillion-dollar business that closed in the afternoon.”
Stanley Marcus opened the restaurant because he felt it would keep customers in the store longer. “He was right,” said Garvin. “Whoever ate in the restaurant spent two to three times more in the store.”