Neiman Marcus 2008 Annual Report Download - page 7

Table of Contents
in Kate Spade LLC and the sale of Kate Spade LLC to Liz Claiborne, Inc. were consummated in December 2006.
Our consolidated financial statements, accompanying notes and other information provided in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K reflect Kate Spade LLC as a discontinued operation for all periods presented.
Recent Developments
On September 3, 2009, we announced preliminary total revenues and comparable revenues of approximately $241.0 million
and $237.0 million, respectively, for the four-week period ended August 29, 2009. In the four-week August period of fiscal year 2010,
total revenues decreased 15.3% and comparable revenues decreased 16.6% compared to the four-week August period of fiscal year
2009. Comparable revenues decreased 19.6% in our Specialty Retail stores and increased 0.1% in our Direct Marketing operation for
the four-week August period of fiscal year 2010.
On October 8, 2009, we announced preliminary total revenues and comparable revenues of approximately $353.5 million and
$344.2 million, respectively, for the five-week period ended October 3, 2009 and $594.5 million and $581.2 million, respectively, for
the nine-week period ended October 3, 2009. In the five-week September period of fiscal year 2010, total revenues decreased 14.8%
and comparable revenues decreased 16.9% compared to the five-week September period of fiscal year 2009. Comparable revenues
decreased 17.6% in our Specialty Retail stores and 13.6% in our Direct Marketing operation for the five-week September period of
fiscal year 2010. In the nine-week September period of fiscal year 2010, total revenues decreased 15.0% and comparable revenues
decreased 16.8% compared to the nine-week September period of fiscal year 2009. Comparable revenues decreased 18.4% in our
Specialty Retail stores and 8.3% in our Direct Marketing operation for the nine-week September period of fiscal year 2010.
All the financial data set forth above for the five and nine-week periods ending October 3, 2009 are preliminary and
unaudited and subject to revision based upon our review and a review by our independent registered public accounting firm of our
financial condition and results of operations for the quarter ending October 31, 2009. Once we and our independent registered public
accounting firm have completed our respective reviews of our financial information for the quarter ending October 31, 2009, we may
report financial results that are different from those set forth above.
Industry Overview
We operate in the luxury apparel and accessories segment of the U.S. retail industry and market and sell merchandise from
luxury-branded fashion vendors, including, but not limited to, Chanel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, David Yurman, St. John, Gucci,
Ermenegildo Zegna, Manolo Blahnik and Brioni. Luxury-branded fashion vendors typically manage the distribution and marketing of
their merchandise to maximize the perception of brand exclusivity and to facilitate the sale of their goods at premium prices, including
limitations on the number of retail locations through which they distribute their merchandise. These retail locations typically consist of
a limited number of specialty stores, high-end department stores and, in some instances, vendor-owned proprietary boutiques.
Retailers that compete with us for the distribution of luxury fashion brands include Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Barney's New
York and other national, regional and local retailers.
Customer Service and Marketing
We are committed to providing our customers with a premier shopping experience through our relationship-based customer
service model, with superior merchandise selection and elegant store settings of our stores. Critical elements to our customer service
approach are:
• knowledgeable, professional and well-trained sales associates;
• marketing programs designed to promote customer awareness of our offerings of the latest fashion trends;
• loyalty programs designed to cultivate long-term relationships with our customers; and
• facilitating the extension of credit to our customers through a proprietary credit card program.
We believe we offer our customers fair and liberal return policies consistent with the practices of other luxury and specialty
retailers. We believe these policies help to cultivate long-term relationships with our customers.
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