NEW YORK — With its array of designer shops, high level of service and famous popovers, Neiman Marcus is set to muscle in on the affluent yet luxury deprived Long Island market.
On Friday, Neiman’s will open its first store on the island, a 105,649-square-foot, two-level unit anchoring the new luxury wing of the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, N.Y. The store has the expected concentration of European and American designer brands and exclusives as well as an eye-catching exterior designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston. It is also the chain’s most technologically advanced unit to date, with many features that were developed in-house.
For the Dallas-based Neiman’s, Long Island has been a long time coming. “We have been wanting to build on Long Island for about 16 years,” said Karen Katz, president and chief executive officer of the Neiman Marcus Group. “But it wasn’t until a few years ago that the right opportunity arose. When we started talking to the Simon Property Group [which owns Roosevelt Field Mall] about coming to Long Island, they were thinking about building a luxury wing. The two things came together really well.”
Related Galleries
Neiman’s is anchoring a wing that also houses stores for Tory Burch, Jo Malone, Montblanc, Furla, Kate Spade New York and Jonathan Adler. Besides that, in 2014, Roosevelt Field Mall began extensive renovations that brought a new dining district and upgrades to the common areas, further enticing Neiman’s to come to what’s considered a mega mall with a mass appeal.
The retailer does play well in varied locations, ranging from such upscale settings as Bal Harbour Shops in Miami; Beverly Hills, and Short Hills, N.J., to NorthPark Center in Dallas, which, like Roosevelt Field, has a broad spectrum of retailing. Anchors at Roosevelt Field include Bloomingdale’s, J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Nordstrom.
Asked why Neiman’s regards Roosevelt Field as a good fit, Katz replied, “Because we don’t open many stores, we do a tremendous amount of research on customer demographics and psychographics” before deciding on a site. “Without question, on Long Island there are the right demographics and psychographics, which are equally important, to support a Neiman Marcus.”
Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom are competition in the area, while Katz singled out the Americana Manhasset. “It’s a beautiful shopping center,” she said. There also is Mitchells in Huntington, N.Y., formerly called Marsh’s.
According to Katz, “There are probably plenty of customers that live on Long Island that may be traveling elsewhere, whether it’s into the city, maybe to Bergdorf Goodman, or many that go to Westchester,” where Neiman’s has a store. “Finding a neighborhood Neiman Marcus will be a real treat for them.”
The Long Island store is important for several reasons. Aside from entering the market for the first time, it’s significant because Neiman’s rarely opens stores. The last one was four years ago in Walnut Creek, Calif., and the next will be in Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side in 2018. Also, given how the luxury business is slumping, Neiman’s could use a lift right now after a tough 2015.
“Probably if you look at the major cities in the United States, we have good coverage,” Katz said. “If opportunities come along, we always keep our eyes and ears open.”
Rather than opening stores, Neiman’s will seek growth more through online sales, new technologies, renovations, attempting to raise productivity at existing stores and international. “We continue to invest lots of capital” into stores, Katz said, citing the Beverly Hills unit as an example, which is halfway through a renovation.
For Long Island, Neiman’s stuck to its formula. “The way we open any new store is very consistent: We go in with the best designer matrix that we can absolutely attract to that market,” Katz said. “Based on the feedback from customers, sales associates and the management team on the ground, we will very quickly make adjustments to the assortment if we are missing something. Remember, this is just store number 42 for us. The beauty of that is we can get that feedback very quickly.”
On the technology side, “Over the years, we keep upping the ante,” Katz said. “We have always focused on architecture in the stores, the art in the stores. But this is the first store where we really have a high component of technology built in from the beginning.”
The Long Island store is outfitted with two “memory mirrors” that capture images and videos of whatever a customer tries on, enabling them to see outfits side by side and with 360-degree views. Images can be shared by e-mail, social media or with a sales associate. The mirrors were developed by Neiman’s iLab and MemoMi.
The store has charging stations and associates are equipped with iPhones to notify customers of new products arrivals and store events. The phones also have look books and access to neimanmarcus.com to augment offerings on the selling floors.
In terms of product, the store has a larger-than-average men’s area with hard shops, such as one for Stefano Ricci, where a $120,000 blue crocodile jacket, the only one in the U.S., hangs. Other shops for men include Moncler, Brunello Cucinelli and Ermenegildo Zegna.
The men’s shoe area stocks John Lobb, Gucci, Fendi, Prada and Saint Laurent, among others, and the large sneaker offering includes Adidas by Raf Simons, as well as Giuseppe Zanotti’s rhinestone shoes, $1,395.
More space than usual was allocated to women’s shoes, which has 1,100 styles on display, including made-to-order Manolo Blahniks.
The main level was modified with lower sight lines and light or transparent fixtures so that the entire floor can be seen from any vantage point.
There is an emphasis on exclusives; Neiman’s tapped designers ranging from Sachin + Babi to Valentino. Sometimes the exclusives incorporate the butterfly symbol into designs. Exclusive merchandise is identified by bright yellow hangtags that say “#OnlyatNM.”
The store features 32 hard shops for brands such as Tom Ford, whose handbag and men’s shops are unique to the market. The fine jewelry salon will offer the Neiman Marcus estate collection.
A mannequin wearing a dramatic gold Carolina Herrera coat over cropped gold pants sets the tone for ready-to-wear on the second level. The assortment includes Akris, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Proenza Schouler, Givenchy, Burberry London, Moncler and Etro. The Cusp contemporary department offers brands including Rag & Bone, AG jeans and Calypso.
The NM Cafe will offer Neiman’s signature popovers and strawberry butter as well as lunch and Sunday brunch. Illuminated glass crystals hanging outside the café’s window evoke a waterfall. A glass footbridge leads to a parking structure.
The store’s interior, designed by Burdifilek, was inspired by a “Cubist gallery,” the company said.
Contemporary art is displayed throughout the store, with plaques identifying each artist. The canvases are colorful and geometrical canvases were created by artists who are from Long Island or have ties to the New York area.
Most striking is the exterior, covered with 2,100 aluminum panels that shimmer and a roof line that gently rises at opposite ends to subtly suggest the company’s butterfly wings symbol. The building’s double-height granite frame acts as a proscenium and is meant to suggest a fashion runway.