Dallas metropolis leaders stated Wednesday they reached a deal that might maintain the downtown Neiman Marcus flagship open.
The deal includes the switch of some property to town from the owner, thereby ending disagreements between the owner and Neiman Marcus involving the land lease.
The group of metropolis officers, often called the Dallas Consortium for the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus, has been working to avoid wasting the flagship. It issued the next assertion Wednesday, a duplicate of which was obtained by WWD: “Now we have reached an settlement for the land in query to be donated to the Metropolis of Dallas. This transaction secures the continued operations of the flagship Neiman Marcus retailer in downtown.”
In addition they stated Saks International, which owns Neiman Marcus, will ship a consultant subsequent week to satisfy with them. It’s not clear but whether or not Saks will reverse its just lately disclosed determination to shut the flagship.
“Given our function within the Dallas neighborhood, we’re working to schedule a gathering with the Dallas Consortium, nonetheless, presently, our plans to shut the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus stay in place,” a Saks International spokesperson informed WWD.
The consortium said that it held conversations over the previous 24 hours with Stephen Rogers, the supervisor for the Slaughter household that has owned the parcel of land that was disputed. Conversations have been held late into Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning — which, in keeping with the consortium, culminated with a gathering with metropolis supervisor Kimberly Bizor Tolbert throughout which the Slaughter household confirmed their intention to donate the land to the Metropolis of Dallas.
“The Metropolis of Dallas will then commit this parcel for the continued operations of the downtown Neiman Marcus flagship retailer,” the assertion indicated.
With the flagship, there are a number of land leases. When Neiman Marcus went bankrupt in 2020, all of the leases have been affirmed for lengthy phrases, besides the one parcel, stated to be about 2,500 sq. toes in measurement, that was disputed. In accordance with the consortium, that parcel’s 99-year lease ended on Jan. 31 this yr however was prolonged to March 31.
“We are able to now report that points Saks management had perceived have been past [Saks’] management, as expressed by CEO Marc Metrick, regarding points with phrases and circumstances on the bottom lease underneath the escalators are actually ‘underneath management’ and will likely be secured going ahead,” the consortium said.
On Feb. 17, Saks indicated that it might shut the shop, stating, “After greater than a decade of negotiations, we acquired a discover from a landlord to terminate our occupancy, forcing us to shut the Neiman Marcus downtown Dallas location efficient March 31, 2025.”
However on Tuesday, the coalition, which incorporates Dallas politicians and native financial leaders, held a press convention outdoors the flagship, situated at 1618 Most important Road, urging Saks International to maintain the Neiman’s flagship open. Officers stated it was traditionally vital to town, a pillar of Dallas tradition, and that enterprise downtown would profit by 2026, with the conference middle being redeveloped and with some FIFA World Cup soccer video games to be held in Dallas that yr.
Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas has operated there for greater than a century and lengthy served because the headquarters for the posh retailer. Nonetheless, many executives on the Neiman’s workforce started working remotely through the pandemic and continued to take action in subsequent years, together with some senior executives working in New York Metropolis.
Whereas an vital and historic location, the Dallas flagship has not been a top-volume producer for the Neiman Marcus luxurious chain in recent times, although Saks did peg the approaching closing of the Dallas flagship on an actual property problem, not its enterprise efficiency. The Neiman’s unit in NorthPark Heart in Dallas, for instance, generates a lot better quantity, and it’s the place Saks International plans a $100 million overhaul.
Wednesday’s assertion was signed by Jennifer Scripps, president and chief government officer of Downtown Dallas Inc.; Linda McMahon, CEO, Dallas Financial Improvement Company; Tolbert, metropolis supervisor, Metropolis of Dallas, and Shawn Todd, chairman, founder, Todd Pursuits.