Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Placer Bytes: The Thing About Neiman Marcus and Allbirds

By 
Ethan Chernofsky
October 6, 2020
Placer Bytes: The Thing About Neiman Marcus and Allbirds
SHARE
Explore our free tools to get timely insights into key industries
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.
Key Takeaways

In this Placer Bytes we dive into Neiman Marcus's bankruptcy and Allbirds offline expansion.

The Thing about Neiman's

Neiman Marcus officially emerged out of bankruptcy in late September, a major feat for the brand and its loyal customers. But, looking at the numbers for the brand does little to inspire confidence that a fundamental turnaround is in store.

Even before the pandemic brought store activity to a halt, Neiman Marcus had a mixed start to 2020 with visits down 1.4% in January and up just 2.4% in February even with an industry-wide, late-month surge and an extra day of February due to leap year. But, visits have been rising with consistent growth each month bringing the brand closer to 2019 levels. And although this has been widely aligned with overall trends in the department store space, the move out of bankruptcy included discussions of a significant shift to eCommerce.

This piece of the story is important, as the focus of the organization will go a long way to determining its ability to successfully rebound over time. And interestingly, it will bring to the forefront key questions about what purpose the brand’s offline footprint serves. While a stronger digital effort can hardly be a negative, the bigger question may center around the way the brand leverages its core offline assets. When analyzing cross-shopping patterns from early 2019 through early 2020 to avoid pandemic trends, interesting insights appear. The upscale Neiman Marcus unsurprisingly sees the highest levels of cross-shopping with other department brands like Macy’s and Nordstrom with 53.0% and 45.7% of its visitors also having frequented one of those brands in that period. The next high-end department brand on the list is Bloomingdale’s with a 19.3% visitor overlap. 

And what comes in between? A large mix of off-price leaders and top retailers. Diving into Neiman Marcus Last Call locations further solidifies this point, with Macy’s again in the top spot followed closely by Marshall’s (45.5%), T.J. Maxx (45.3%), Ross (41.8%), and Kohl’s (35.1%). The overlap here is far less with other high-end brands with Nordstrom seeing only 26.3% of those customers visit a location and Bloomingdale’s seeing just 9.8%.

So why does this matter? As Neiman looks to realign itself, it has different alternatives for approaching the market. On the one hand, it can and should utilize its flagship brand to drive high-end visitors with a focus on personal shopping and high levels of customer centricity, elements that could be especially valuable in the coming months. But it also has an off-price asset that could be utilized more effectively instead of being abandoned. Off-price is one of the hottest sectors in retail and yet, Last Call has seen visit rates very similar to those of Neiman Marcus. This screams opportunity, as locating Last Call locations more effectively could help drive visits and an expansion of the brand’s market reach.

Allbirds Expanding

A top DTC company is expanding its offline presence — color us not surprised. This is a trend we’ve been discussing constantly since late 2019. In fact, it was one of our big trends for 2020. And here again, it makes all the sense in the world. Allbirds announced a $100 million series E with much of that going to driving new physical locations.

Why? Because owning your offline presence enables a unique mix of revenue, marketing, and logistics benefits that can help a retailer be more profitable and expand its reach. And considering the pace that Allbirds was on in early 2020, visits to owned locations were up 159.3% and 69.0% in January and February, respectively. The decision couldn’t come at a better time. With many overextended retailers looking to shut locations in the coming months and year, Allbirds could be positioned to be growing at just the right time. 

How will Neiman approach its offline reach? Will the Allbirds expansion drive results? Visit Placer.ai to find out.

Learn how downtown regions across US cities are measuring up with our free tools.
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.

Related Topics

Explore our free tools to get timely insights into key industries
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.
SHARE
Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week
Subscribe to the newsletter
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Recent Publications

Get 3 brand & industry breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter
Home Depot and Lowe’s Heading Into the Holidays
Starbucks and Dutch Bros: Short Visits Lead the Way
Planet Fitness: Raising the Bar(bell)
Checking in With Full-Service Restaurants: First Watch, Chili’s, and Outback Steakhouse
RBI and Yum!: QSR Resilience in 2024
Boot Barn and DSW: Stepping Up Their Game
Target’s October Circle Week: A Data-Driven Snapshot
Chipotle, Shake Shack & Wingstop: Dining Success in Q3 2024
Playa Bowls and Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Berry Big Business
Cheesecake Factory & BJ’s Restaurants: Full-Service Success
Checking in on McDonald's and Wendy's 
Sprouts Farmers Market: A Specialty Grocer With a Traditional Twist
CAVA: The Craze Continues
Placer.ai Reaches $100M Annual Recurring Revenue
Catching Up With Carter's 
A Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse Showdown
Placer.ai Mall Index: September 2024 Recap – Labor Day Peaks and Holiday Season Predictions
Albertsons Q3 Check-In
Looking Ahead to the 2024 Holiday Season
Trader Joe's: Continuing to Thrive in 2024
Bowlero and AMF: A Ten-Pin Knockout
Recreational Retail: Store Performance in 2024
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – September 2024
A QSR and Fast-Casual Face-Off
Sam’s Club’s In-Store Retail Media Network Opportunity
The Rising Stars: Six Metro Areas Welcoming Young Professionals
Costco in 2024: A Deep Dive
Sherwin-Williams in 2024: Brighter Than a New Lick of Paint
Life Time and Orangetheory: Premium Fitness Flourishing
C-Stores: More Than A Pit Stop
Darden: Dining Dominance Undeterred 
Placer 100 Index for Retail and Dining: August 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2024 Recap – Back-To-School In Full Swing
Auto Parts Retailers: The Traffic Continues
Pumpkin Spice Works its Magic Once Again
School Season Sparks Retail Growth
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – July & August 2024
Big Lots’ Big Rightsizing Move in Four Data Points
Fun Away From The Sun: Checking in With Eatertainment
Domestic Migration and Population Growth: Strong Currents Off The Carolina Coast
The Civic Impact of Summer Events
Retail Trends in College Towns: A Back-to-School Snapshot
Five Below and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet: Consumers Still on the Hunt for Discounts
Macy’s & Bloomingdale’s: Into 2024 and Beyond
Limited Time Only: The Trend Continues
Beauty in 2024: Many Ways to Win
Dollar General & Dollar Tree: Powering Ahead in Q2 2024
The Home Depot and Lowe's Foot Traffic Remodel in Q2 2024
Superstore Update: Summer Savings Spree
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2024 Recap – From Fourth of July to Back-to-School
Placer.ai Office Index: July 2024 Recap
Summer Movie Madness: Blockbuster Films Boost Foot Traffic
Driving Success: Toyota in 2024
Denny’s and IHOP: An All-Day Breakfast Matchup
Warby Parker: Seeing Clearly Now
Planet Fitness at the 2024 Halfway Point
Serving Summer 2024: RBI and Yum! Brands Q2 Foot Traffic
Starbucks, Dutch Bros., Dunkin’: Finding Summer Success
Fast Food and Fast Casual Favorites, Plus CosMc’s Takeoff
Chipotle and Sweetgreen: Fast-Casual in Q2 2024
First Watch, Texas Roadhouse, and Applebee’s: An FSR Roundup
Albertsons Companies: H1 2024 Recap
Teaming Up For Success: Sports Stadium Sponsorships
Limited Time Offers: Price Wars Boost Visits
Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: June 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: June 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2024 Recap
Inside Out 2: The New Blockbuster Bringing Crowds Back to Theaters
Petco and PetSmart: A Head to Head
Frozen Delights: Exploring Ice Cream Chains Across America
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – June 2024
Barnes & Noble: Writing a New Story
Small Format Stores - Sprouting, Blooming, and Expanding
Retail and Dining on Father’s Day
Thrift Store Visit Scores
Charting Value Grocery’s Visit Growth
Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: Introduction and May 2024 Recap
Digging Into Darden: Q2 2024 Update
2024 Retail and Dining Trends Update
TRU and avid: Midscale Hotels on the Rise 
Diving Into Kroger: A Strong Start to 2024
Placer.ai Mall Index: May 2024 Recap – Mall Visits on the Rebound
Placer.ai Office Index: May 2024 Recap
2024 Memorial Day Recap
Las Vegas: A Tourism and Migration Deep Dive
Eatertainment Chains: Full on Food, Fun, and Foot Traffic
The Promise of Luxury Apparel
Catching Up With Ulta Beauty & Gap Brands
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Five Below: Q1 2024 Treasure Troves
CAVA Still Going Strong
Driving Success: Auto Parts Chains in 2024
Checking in With DICK’S Sporting Goods
Mother’s Day Shopping and Dining Trends
Placer.ai Mall Index: April 2024 Recap – Retail Resilience Heading into Spring
Dollar Stores Still Gaining Momentum
Off-Price Apparel Chains After Q1 2024: Demographics in the Balance
Walmart, Target, and Wholesale Clubs Continue to Thrive
Home Improvement and Decor Check In
Placer.ai Office Index: April 2024 Recap – Recovery Continues