Neiman Marcus gives itself a plan to meet environmental and other targets

Neiman Marcus Group released a new set of goals Wednesday for workforce diversity and climate change. Its first Environmental Social Governance report sets target dates on key issues for 2025 and 2030.

The Dallas-based luxury retailer also said Wednesday that its November through January holiday quarter resulted in a comparable sales increase of more than 7%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and other items were up 15% compared with the holiday quarter before the pandemic in 2019. For the 12 months ended in January, the adjusted earnings were up 26% from the pre-COVID comparable period.

The privately held retailer didn’t disclose full profit and sales results but did say that its liquidity had improved from $458 million a year ago to $1.2 billion and that it hasn’t used its $900 million line of credit.

CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said holiday results were strong and margins were better than before the pandemic as the company continues to focus on its “full-price strategy.”

“NMG is in the relationship business,” van Raemdonck said. “Our brand partners continue to trust NMG because of our relationships with luxury customers, and customers know that we’ve curated an extraordinary assortment of the most desirable brands.”

The company’s 57-page report outlines how it plans to reduce emissions from its facilities, procure renewable energy and eliminate all products containing fur by next year.

It also said it plans to increase revenue from sustainable and ethical products and identify a list of those suppliers by 2025 to help shoppers at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman make informed buying decisions. The report recommends a range of efforts, from recycling beauty testers and boosting recycled content in shopping bags to collaborating with nonprofits such as the Textile Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States when making merchandise decisions.

Since 2019, when the company made an investment in luxury reseller Fashionphile, Neiman Marcus has been opening Fashionphile-branded buying shops in its stores.

Neiman’s said it wants to extend the useful life of more than 1 million luxury items through mending and alterations, restoration, resale and donation by 2025.

The report says that Neiman Marcus will advance a “culture of belonging” by increasing racial diversity in leadership roles at the vice president level and above to 21% in 2025 and 28% by 2030. The company, which recently received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, will continue to set aggressive goals and is planning to increase spending with minority suppliers.

Neiman Marcus just introduced 16 weeks of paid parental leave and is conducting a pay equity study in 2022. It also plans to raise $3 million with its customers for charity through The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation and make volunteering easier for employees. Disaster preparedness and relief in communities where it has stores is also a priority.

The point of the report is “to demonstrate the true impact Neiman’s has had on the lives of our customers, associates, brand partners and the communities in which we do business,” said Eric Severson, chief people and belonging officer.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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