Neiman Marcus’ Q4 Loss Deepens

Neiman Marcus’ Q4 loss deepens

Atlanta Business Chronicle
Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 10:59am EDT

Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss that has deepened over the 2008 fiscal year.

Dallas-based Neiman’s posted a fourth-quarter loss of $168.5 million, which is deeper than the $35.6 million loss reported during the same period last year. During the same period, overall sales at Neiman’s hit $768 million, down from $1.03 billion. The quarter included the recording of a $143.1 million pretax impairment charge.

Meanwhile, Neiman’s same-store sales fell 23.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

For the fiscal year, the company reported a net operating loss of $668 million, down from a profit of $142. 8 million. Sales for the year fell from $4.6 billion in 2008 to $3.64 billion this year.

Chairman and CEO Burton Tansky added that the company “tightly managed its expenses,” eliminated $100 million in costs and ended the year with 23 percent less merchandise due to better inventory management.

"Fiscal year 2009 was a very challenging year fo rour company. We quickly began addressing the many challenges we faced due to a sharp decline in our business, precipitated by the downturn in the economy," Tansky said.

(SOURCE: Atlanta Business Chronicle)