Barriers to Effective Communication
...of visionary designs recorded by equally visionary photographers was unveiled. As we approached the turn of the new century, The Galleries of Neiman Marcus debuted, offering an expertly edited assortment of jewelry, tabletop collections, and decorative items in intimate, gallery-like stores in three cities. The company began acquiring majority interests in brand-name luxury goods companies such as Kate Spade and Laura Mercier. In Fall 1999, Neiman Marcus launched an e-commerce website, combining the modern technology of online retailing with the enduring philosophy developed by the founders over 90 years ago: that our customers can expect extraordinary merchandise and superior service in an elegant environment -- in a store, in a catalog, or on the web. The NeimanMarcus.com web site offers visitors a personalized shopping service, 3-dimensional features and 5,000 upscale product depictions in assortments for her, him, beauty, jewelry, home and gifts. The Neiman Marcus Group focuses on high-end retail products, and operates a chain of 35 specialty retail stores spread across the country, two Bergdorf Goodman stores in Manhattan and 14 clearance centers. The company also owns and operates Neiman Marcus Direct, a direct marketing operation. Both of the company's stores, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, offer high-end fashion apparel and accessories from top brand name designers. In addition to the stores, the company also owns a 51 percent interest in Gurwitch Products, LLC, a distributor and marketer of the Laura Mercier cosmetic line, as well as a 56 percent interest in Kate Spade LLC, which manufactures and sells designer handbags and accessories. Neiman Marcus opened its first women's apparel and accessory store in Dallas, Texas, on September 10, 1907, and was an immediate hit with the well-to-do class in the oil-rich city. Only a few years later, the company was almost dealt a fatal blow when a fire destroyed the store and all of its merchandise. Despite the setback, the three partners who founded the company managed to set up a temporary store and reopen in only 17 days. The company has also had its share of firsts, beginning in 1927 when one of the founders, Stanley Marcus, launched the first weekly retail fashion show in the United States, in addition to the first personalized gift wrapping station. In 1927, the retailer branched out and began offering lines of menswear and accessories, in addition to the women's clothing for which it had already made a name for itself. Another first for Neiman came in 1939 when it launched its famous Christmas catalog, offering fur coats, fashion accessories, perfumes and toys, beginning a tradition that continues to this day, and has included a number of wild items over the years, such as "his-and-her" submarines, hot air balloons, and Egyptian mummy cases, a $1.45 million bowling alley, a $10,000 mermaid suit, a limited edition NM Las Vegas Trike that features a 330-horsepower V8 Chevy engine and two bucket racing seats and a $10 million airship. The company recently claimed the catalog gave adults "the chance to become children again by dreaming about the ultimate gift." Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Stores, one of the world's best-known specialty retailers, operates 33 stores in the U.S. Neiman Marcus Stores is part of The Neiman Marcus Group (NYSE:NMG), which is headquartered in Dallas Texas. The company was the first retail apparel store outside New York to advertise in national fashion magazines, and was dubbed by Vogue as "Texas with a French accent" in 1953. In 1971, Neiman Marcus went outside Texas for the first time to open a store. After proving a success, the company felt comfortable enough to launch other outlets in over 30 cities around the United States. Although the company doesn't saturate the market like some of its competitors, it instead concentrates on opening stores in affluent locales. In 2001, the company opened a Neiman Marcus store in Palm Beach, Florida, the first of four Florida stores it opened between 2001 and 2003. In 2002, the company replaced its old suburban Dallas store with a larger and more high-end store. As part of its short-term growth plan, in 2002 Neiman announced that from 2002 through 2005, it plans to add 744,000 gross square feet of retail space in six full-line stores and three major remodels. These projects will increase total retail space to more than five million gross square feet in 37 full-line Neiman Marcus stores and two Bergdorf Goodman stores. The Neiman Marcus operation includes a specialty stores segment and the direct marketing segment. The specialty retail stores segment consists of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Store. The direct marketing segment consists of printed catalogs and online activities. Neiman...