image: Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, which has been exploring strategic options including a sale, reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on Tuesday, as it continues to struggle in the face of intense competition from similarly situated online retailers, fast fashion brands like Zara, H&M and Mango.
In addition to a fourth straight quarter of falling profits, the Dallas, Texas-company – which stocks an array of high fashion labels, including Tom Ford, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, and The Row – reported a 5 percent dip in same-store sales for the third quarter ending April 29. It also posted a net loss of $24.9 million in the quarter, compared to a profit of $3.8 million, a year earlier.
Neiman Marcus joins apparel brands and retailers, including Macy’s, Gap and Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands, which have also faced lackluster demand amid stiff competition from Amazon.com and fast fashion brands, the latter of which have gotten increasingly good at churning out spot-on runway copies at a fraction of the price.
According to Reuters, “Retailers have struggled to cope with changes in consumer tastes as shoppers increasingly spend on travel and big-ticket home improvement items and less on apparel and accessories.”
Neiman Marcus has been suffering for some time now, putting aside plans for an initial public offering early this year in favor of “exploring options,” including changes to its capital structure change or a sale of the company to offset its enormous debt load.
Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Co had approached Neiman Marcus about a potential combination earlier this year, but talks have stalled, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
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