A Brief History of Neiman Marcus
Neiman-Marcus was established in 1907 as a dry goods store by Carrie Marcus Neiman, Herbert Marcus, Sr., and A.L. Neiman who audaciously brought the concept of ready-to-wear to the market for the most distinctive of clientele. The enterprise was launched with a series of full-page ads proclaiming a new epicenter of shopping for the region which was primarily concerned with cotton and oil trades. At the time, horses with buggies ran the streets and bars were the most common storefront in an untamed Dallas. Their initial goods on offer included dresses, gowns, novelty lingerie, tunics, and suiting with prices which ranged from $25 to $95. Notions of high-class construction was reinforced by importing unheard of materials from around the world like Asian silks and Irish lace. In 1910, they partnered with Revillon Frères to sell a large line of furs. However, this burgeoning success was nearly sacrificed after a devastating fire in May of 1913 which destroyed the inventory and building. Herbert Marcus was undeterred and accounted weeks later that a new store was going to be built in a fireproof manner to designs by Greene, LaRoche & Dahl. Departments were established for clothing and accessories with a large free lending library as an amenity. Realizing the probability of growth, the structure was engineered so that additional floors could be constructed in future time. Patrons were enthralled with 40% of the customer base was from outside of Dallas with others brought in from outlying points and from even neighboring states. A buying office was opened by 1920 in France, the first of any establishment in the Southwest to cement a presence in Europe.
The 1927 debut of the store’s expansion was met with a record-breaking crowd of 30,000 people who attended the opening. The Marcuses were truly groundbreaking–Carrie Marcus was one of the first women to establish their own company in America during a time when she didn’t even have the right to vote. A sales culture was devised that gave their employees—especially women—the freedom and power to reach their fullest potential. The Marcuses remained at the forefront by bringing fashions and brands that had popularized in traditional capitals of Europe to places never before seen in the South. Along with it, they championed a customer service model that was high-touch, emulating that of competitors like Henri Bendel and B. Altman’s who emphasized strong relationships with their clients to encourage spending. They championed charitable causes as a way to ensure betterment of their neighbors through benevolence and partnerships with social groups like the Junior League of Dallas. All of this was uncharted territory that the Marcuses masterfully handled with grace while taking on considerable risk for themselves if it did not pan out--and went on to set standards that others followed in.
Under the leadership of Stanley Marcus, Neiman-Marcus Co. became a veritable landmark that established precedent instead of merely following trends that existed before. His ideas became a hallmark of all future Neiman Marcus stores which sought to capture the zenith of each moment in time. Stanley was skilled at marketing and outreach to bring in clientele to visit from the furthest parts of the earth. He developed a shopping environment that was enriched with the very best quality that money could buy, from the talent he sought out to the design he curated. Marcus amassed a corporate collection of artwork that represented the names one would see in the finest museums but instead could be found on a sales floor as a way to imbue culture. He leveraged architecture to create a unique environment that would be iconic, commissioning interiors by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Eleanor Le Maire to leverage form and function as a way to draw focus on the merchandise. This attracted nobility, celebrities, socialites, and dignitaries who were seeking good, thoughtful taste and quality that would be remembered far after the price was forgotten. Diners over the years at Helen Corbitt’s pioneering Zodiac Room included the Prince of Wales, Grace Kelly, and countless doyennes of the establishment. Dallas’s first international flight was initiated for the inaugural Foreign Fortnight occasion in 1957 where Stanley Marcus was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, regarded as the highest civilian award bestowed by the French government. These doings generated a theatrical sensation which was covered by the press with an intense fervor. Fortnights, each focused on showcasing the representations of each different country, continued to be a much-loved annual event in Dallas into the 1980’s. For over 85 years, the annual Neiman Marcus Award introduced Texans to now household names like Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Oscar De La Renta, and Carolina Herrera. Neiman Marcus set the very notion of what department store selling should be. It became a nurturing incubator by investing in talent, starting the careers of other merchants like Crawford Brock who has managed Stanley Korshak as a thriving enterprise.
