Karen Katz has been CEO of the legendary Neiman Marcus for 3 years, and in that brief time, she has been revolutionizing the brand, according to Walter Loeb of Forbes magazine. While luxury has been the emphasis of Neiman Marcus from its infancy, including its fantasy catalogs, Katz is expanding its value offerings and opened more Last Call Studio stores.
Katz’s decision to acquire Mytheresa.com will expand its offerings on the ecommerce side, and this will give Neiman Marcus a sound omnichannel strategy, according to Loeb. One of her boldest moves is the decision to open a Neiman Marcus location in New York City in Hudson Yard. This should shift the focus of luxury retail to the west side of the city, and Katz does not think Neiman Marcus owned Bergdorf Goodman will steal business away from the flagship store. There is some chatter that the announced opening of a Nordstrom location set to open on 57th street might create competition, but Katz is not concerned about a conflict of interest between Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman because, as she told Fortune, “Bergdorf Goodman is positioned at the very top of the luxury pyramid, and I think as we go through this next phase of renovation, we’re going to elevate it even further. There is part of the luxury market that is a little bit broader, and Neiman Marcus fills a space that Bergdorf just can’t because of where we’ve positioned it.”
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