Neiman Marcus Group reported that it plans to lay off about five percent of its employees, or around 500 employees, as “part of a strategic realignment” while making changes to its leadership team.
The updates to management move additional group-level responsibilities for strategic capabilities to each of NMG’s brand presidents.
Darcy Penick, president, Bergdorf Goodman, will assume group-level leadership of the NMG product and technology team.
“Bergdorf Goodman is a key driver for the company’s growth through BG.com,” explained Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of NMG. “Darcy’s strategic leadership of NMG’s product and technology roadmap will ensure the right suite of tools, platforms and resources are aligned to our most important investments in the customer experience and key capabilities across Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.”
Ryan Ross, President, Neiman Marcus, will lead Customer Insights for the group.
“The Neiman Marcus brand continues to experience outsized growth of high-value customers, and Ryan’s leadership of these key capabilities will continue fueling deeper relationships with top customers,” continued van Raemdonck. “His role will accelerate customer-informed decisions across NMG.”
Bob Kupbens, chief product and technology officer, will leave the company after building momentum across product, technology and analytics organization, enabling the transition of these core capabilities back into the business.
As “part of the strategic realignment to accelerate high-value luxury customer growth,” the company announced that positions representing less than five percent of the workforce would be eliminated across the organization. The company has also identified open roles to support its operating model, which will be filled based on the retailer’s strategic business needs.
The new operating model, with the luxury customer at the center of its design, is expected to drive faster decision-making and agility.
“It is always our intent to minimize the impact on existing associate jobs, and we take these types of decisions very seriously. We will support those associates who will be leaving the company with severance and other benefits,” concluded van Raemdonck.
