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Securities and Exchange Commission

Neiman Marcus files for IPO

Ed Brackett, and Jayne O'Donnell
USA TODAY

The parent company of iconic upscale Neiman Marcus retail stores Tuesday filed plans for an initial public stock offering.

Outside a Neiman Marcus store in Coral Gables, Fla.

In a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group said it would seek to become publicly traded this year on an as yet undisclosed U.S. financial exchange under the ticker symbol NMG.

The IPO filing did not state the proposed maximum aggregate offering price, instead using a placeholder estimate of $100 million that could be amended later. The prospectus also did not identify underwriters for the proposed deal.

Neiman Marcus said proceeds from the offering would be used to repay indebtedness, as well as for general corporate purposes.

The company, founded over 100 years ago, took in about $4.8 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2014, about 24% of that total through online transactions, the prospectus said.

The company is currently owned by Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment board, which bought Neiman Marcus in a $6 billion 2005 transaction. The sellers, headed by private equity firms TPG Capital LP and Warburg Pincus LLC, previously explored a potential IPO for the company.

Neiman Marcus Group, owns 41 Neiman Marcus stores in locations across the U.S. The parent company also owns the My Theresa brand, which the IPO filing said "appeals to younger, fashion-forward, luxury customers, primarily from Europe, Asia and the Middle East," through its THERESA flagship store in Munich.

"Under each of our primary brands, we offer our customers a curated and compelling assortment of narrowly distributed merchandise from luxury and fashion designers, including Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Akris, Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna, David Yurman, Christian Louboutin, Valentino, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Goyard, Brunello Cucinelli, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tom Ford," the parent firm said in the prospectus. "We believe we are the retail partner of choice to luxury designers because we offer a distinctive distribution channel that accesses our loyal and affluent customers and adhere to strict presentation, marketing and promotional standards consistent with the luxury experience."

Retail expert and consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow was not surprised to learn Neiman Marcus was going public.

“Neiman Marcus is the one luxury retailer that understands the new psychology of today’s affluent American shoppers,” says Yarrow, author of the new book Decoding the New Consumer Mind.

She cites a new study by CEB Iconoculture, which says wealthy shoppers these days are more likely to identify with middle-class than upper-class values.

Neiman Marcus has also located its stores smartly, Yarrow says, adding that they “have the right mix of opulence and approachability.”

“Neiman’s has mastered two of the deepest desires of today’s new breed of luxury shopper: a well-executed, superbly integrated online and in-store shopping experience; and trust-engendering relationships and collaborations with other companies,” says Yarrow.

As an example, she cites Neiman’s recent decision to partner with the luxury online consignment boutique, The Real Real.

“Clearly Neiman’s is in touch with many of today’s modern luxury shoppers who need to jettison the guilt of abundance before buying something new,” says Yarrow, who is a longtime Neiman’s customer. The company is “forward-looking — constantly evaluating their brand relationships, promotions and offerings to simultaneously offer the excitement of ‘new’ — an essential with the Millennial Generation — and the comfort of  tradition.”

Contributing: Staff reports

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