The Shophound

EXECUTIVE ACTION: Neiman's and Bergdorf's Name Matt Singer To Men's Fashion Post

Neiman Marcus Group filled a conspicuously empty menswear post today by naming Matthew Singer (pictured right) men's fashion director for both Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores. Name not familiar? A google image search shows that he's not quite the internet icon that his predecessor Nick Wooster has become, but he is apparently not quite the same kind of individualistic dresser, and coming from Bloomingdale's, he has had a relatively smaller position in the higher-end Men's market than he will have at Neiman's and Bergdorf's. Singer will be arriving at one of the country's largest and most influential men's luxury retailers in Neiman's, and one of it's most exclusive at Bergdorf's where he will help oversee a major renovation of the Men's Store that is already taking shape with a big new Lanvin boutique and the long awaited return of Prada with an even bigger one.

Singer has been appointed just in time for the Fall 2012 Men's shows in Milan and Paris which begin next week. That should give him just enough of a chance to get a few flashy new duds so Tommy Ton and all the other street photogs can learn his name.

Neiman Marcus Names Matthew Singer Men’s Fashion Director (WWD)

HUMAN RESOURCES: Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman Lose Their Men's Fashion Director

Nickelson Wooster abruptly left his post last week as Men's fashion Director for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. As far as we know, he is the first person to hold the responsibilities for both divisions of Neiman Marcus Group (Roopal Patel, a fellow Bergdorf veteran continues to hold the women's counterpart post).  Wooster's history with NMG goes back over two decades to when he was buyer for the most advanced Men's Designer Collections at the opening of Bergdorf Goodman's Men's store. He returned to the company a few years ago after having held posts at Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, among other companies and, most prominently, as president of John Bartlett from 1996 to 2001. Since returning to NMG, Wooster has also become a favorite of style bloggers like Tommy Ton, and his distinctive personal style has been chronicled exhaustively during fashion weeks.

There are no rumors about trouble between Wooster and NMG, and a lot of people are curious about what his next move will be. Wooster has made no comment about his departure, but the most recent entry on his Tumblr (pictured below) should give anyone who is wondering a pretty good picture of his current state of mind.

Nick Wooster Departs Neiman’s (WWD)

Holiday Previews:If It's OctoberIt Must Be Christmas

Perhaps no other retailer has been more skilled at weathering tough times than Neiman Marcus. In an example of the worst possible timing, the Texas Luxury chain releases its 2008 Christmas Book this week.
As usual, the Christmas catalogs come out waaay before anyone is really ready for Holiday shopping, but, especially this year, stores need as much time as they can possibly get to sell all that special holiday-themed merchandise, because come December 26th it's markdown time.
In a strategy that paradoxically seems to work for Neiman's during challenging economic times, the store made its catalog more luxurious than ever, moving its $100 gift sections to their own separate catalogs, so as not to distract from this year's fanrtasy gifts.
Famed for it's practically absurd extravagances, this year's book includes, among other bagatelles, a $1.3 million wedding package, His and Hers life-size replica portrait sculptures rendered in LEGO^® for a mere $60,000, A Jack Nicklaus designed golf course starting at $1 million (you provide the real estate), and topping out at $10 million, you get a thoroughbred racehorse farm created for you by Three Chimneys Farm home to, "some of racing's winningest thoroughbreds," including history's only undefeated triple crown winner, Seattle Slew.
That's all in addition to the usual array of designer gowns, furs and jewels, jewels, jewels.
It's the kind of oddly comforting optimism that we need right about now.
Neiman Marcus 2008 Christmas Book (Official Site)
See the video press release after the jump-

Neiman Marcus' Cusp Builds a Loft in the Mall

Last month we told you about Neiman Marcus's new contemporary specialty concept, Cusp which is currently being launched as an answer to expanding competitors like  Barney's Co-op, Scoop and Intermix. Well, we have been down to Tyson's Corner Center in McLean Virginia to see the very first of four planned units. If you were expecting a clone of those stores we can report that the fine people at The Neiman Marcus Group have taken all the best elements of their potential competitors and mixed them up into something all its own.
A full report after the jump

The Wall Street Journal Goes Shopping

This weekend, The Wall Street Journal decided to turn its analytical eyes to the world of luxury, and sent Vanessa O'Connell to take a big survey on the shopping habits of the aging and increasingly free-spending Generation X. (Ugh, are we aging?) Having spent nearly 15 years working in several of the stores she investigated, The Shophound had more than a passing interest in what O'Connell had to say, and we can sum up her premise by paraphrasing Woody Allen in "Annie Hall." Essentially, department stores are like sharks; either they move forward or they die. In her big graph chart comparing Barney's, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, she got a lot of things right, but may have missed a few important points.
More after the jump

Neiman Marcus' Cusp Takes Aim At Barney's CO-OP

We've known for a while that Neiman Marcus was cooking up an expansion concept involving smaller stores, but yesterday, they announced in Women's Wear Daily that the new shops will be called Cusp, and four of them will be opening within the next nine months. The first one to bow will be in Virginia at Tyson's Corner Center later this month (we'll get a review of that one before the end of the summer), followed closely a Century City unit in Los Angeles a few weeks later. February brings a DC branch in Georgetown, and the fourth location has yet to be announced. Manhattan, perhaps? We're betting they will wait to perfect the formula before they take on such a high profile location, so our breath will not be held, and so far they are also avoiding their home turf in Texas. The description sounds like a direct challenge to the countrywide proliferation of Barney's CO-OPs, so we will be watching this provocation very carefully.