Neiman Marcus Last Call, Shuts Down 10 Stores

Neiman Marcus is refocusing its business plan to more intently promote its full-line stores. That focus has to come from somewhere, though, and the company has announced it is closing 10 of its Last Call off-price stores. Currently, those stores employ 241 people.

Dallas-based brick-and-mortar retailer Neiman Marcus is the parent company of Last Call. Last Call has been under some recent pressure since it announced in July it was reviewing its strategy to make certain its online and brick-and-mortar mix made sense — and, of course, that the mix represented what customers want and need.

After this latest round of closures, there are just 37 Last Call Stores remaining.

“This decision is about optimizing our Last Call store portfolio to deliver the best customer service and freeing up resources to support new initiatives for our full-line Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman channels,” said Elizabeth Allison, senior vice president of Last Call. “We are investing in our strengths as the clear leader of high-end luxury retail.”

With more Last Call locations off the table, Neiman Marcus says it will better be able to set the remaining storefronts apart from competitors’ versions of off-priced stores. The theory behind this strategy will see fewer locations, pushing more unique inventory into each of them as opposed to filling each with outlet-specific materials.

With fewer Last Call stores, the company said, it will truly be able to differentiate its off-price offerings.

The 241 employees at these stores will receive severance packages based on length of service and will be considered for other positions at Neiman Marcus Group, the company added.

The retailer has also announced efforts to expand its full-line stores. Earlier this year, the high-end department store chain opened a new location in Fort Worth, Texas, and is currently building its first ever Manhattan, New York City, storefront located in the Hudson Yards development on the West Side.