Shoppers around the world will soon have access to products from one of Dallas’ best-known fashion retailers.
With a $200 million investment from London-based online luxury retail marketplace Farfetch, Neiman Marcus Group has a new minority owner and a partner that will help it expand its reach globally.
“This partnership is about revolutionizing the luxury landscape globally, both online and offline, by combining NMG’s iconic presence in the U.S. and Farfetch Luxury New Retail vision and technology,” said José Neves, Farfetch founder, chairman, and CEO, in a statement.
Going global
The partnership will initially focus on Neiman-owned retailer Bergdorf Goodman, which has physical locations in New York, with Farfetch helping to expand its online site and app globally via digital customer experiences and curated offerings on Farfetch’s platform.
Neiman Marcus, which also owns the brands Last Call and Horchow, will later be added as a partner to Farfetch’s platform, making it accessible to customers around the world. The companies said the strategic partnership is set to be completed in Q3.
Investing in e-commerce
With the financial investment, Neiman said it plans to accelerate growth in its technology and digital capabilities—areas the company has shown previous interest in with its acquisition of Seattle-based machine learning selling platform Stylyze. At the time of the acquisition, the Dallas Morning News reported that Neiman was seeing about 35% of sales come from online.
“Whilst the U.S. is proving to be a long-lasting source of growth for the luxury industry, fueled by younger generations who are highly engaged with the category,” Neves said, “businesses will have to significantly upgrade their digital capabilities—powering both online and offline customer journeys—to meet these new customer expectations and stay ahead in what is going to be a competitive space in the coming years.”
Neiman Marcus has been focusing on its digital sales, after scaling back brick-and-mortar operations following its emergence from bankruptcy in 2020 with a restructuring plan to eliminate more than $4 billion in debt and $200 million in annual interest expense.
The Farfetch deal comes as Bergdorf is promoting Cheryl Han as the senior VP of BergdorfGoodman.com and customer strategy and Melissa Xides as the senior VP of Bergdorf Goodman stores and brand operations.
Farfetch joins other Neiman Marcus investors PIMCO, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Sixth Street.
“Farfetch’s investment demonstrates their confidence in our omnichannel strategy, and we look forward to partnering with Farfetch to continue revolutionizing the luxury customer experience and delivering value to all our stakeholders,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Neiman Marcus Group CEO, in a statement.
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