Neiman Marcus Group is Advancing its ESG Strategy and Leveraging its Relationships with Luxury Brands to Revolutionize Impact

The integrated luxury retailer released its third ESG report, marking progress toward its strategic goals, with several met ahead of schedule 

DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) launched its third ESG report, Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact. It announced that, less than three years into its ESG journey, the company has achieved several milestones ahead of its 2025 aspirations, including:  

• Extending the useful life of more than one million luxury items through circular services such as alterations, repair, resale, and donation since FY21;
• Increasing racial and ethnic diversity in leadership roles Vice President level and above to 21% by implementing evidence-based practices to eliminate bias across the associate experience, including hiring, development, and retention.

In addition, the company continued to advance workplace equity, in line with prominent external standards, which includes:  

• The Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, in which NMG recently achieved a maximum score of 100 for the second year in a row, earning the Equality 100 Award designation; and
• Disability:IN's Disability Equality Index, which recognized NMG as a top company for disability inclusion in 2023.

"I am proud of the meaningful progress we've made in the areas of sustainability and advancing workplace equity, as we continue Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO, NMG. "These achievements are a direct result of leading with love in everything we do to Make Life Extraordinary for our customers, associates, brand partners, and communities." 

Neiman Marcus Group's ESG strategy seeks to Revolutionize Luxury Experiences by advancing sustainable products and services, cultivating a culture of Belonging, and leading with love in its communities. The company is amplifying its impact across the luxury fashion industry through partnerships with leading brands, nonprofits, suppliers, and industry experts.  

Advancing Sustainable Products & Services
From the footprint of its buildings to the length of time customers treasure the products it sells, Neiman Marcus Group continued to make an impact on environmental issues across its value chain, including climate change, sustainable products, and the circular economy.  

The company recently announced its commitment to the Science-Based Targets Initiative, and its partnership with Guidehouse's Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition program to help its brand partners and business vendors do the same. In FY23, NMG enrolled brand partners and vendors in the program and will continue to enroll more throughout FY24. 

"As one of the premier luxury fashion retailers, our deep relationships with the U.S. luxury customer and the world's most desired brands allow us to further influence positive change on the industry," van Raemdonck added. "We know that empowering others to join us in our efforts amplifies our collective impact." 

Cultivating a Culture of Belonging
As a relationship business, Neiman Marcus Group is committed to cultivating a culture of Belonging that celebrates diverse backgrounds and experiences. A new partnership with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) is one of the many ways the company is giving diverse-owned brands access to resources and support to scale their businesses. Through this program, qualified businesses will receive increased access to buyers and category managers, training and development opportunities, and dedicated meetings to review supplier success metrics. Throughout the next year, NMG aims to certify 25 diverse-owned suppliers through the program, standardizing and advancing recognition for diverse-owned brands within the fashion industry. 

Additionally, through the luxury retailer's Power of One people strategy that is shaped by the voice of its people, the company's leadership team remains committed to NMG WOW, a unique, integrated working philosophy that empowers associates to work wherever, whenever and however they do their best work, full stop. This commitment fueled the company's ability to increase retention 4% and improve time to hire by 10% during FY23 from the prior year period while operating in a volatile business environment. 

"Our NMG Way of Working (WOW) integrated working philosophy has been a key driver of associate engagement and talent attraction. It also speaks to our commitment to cultivating a culture of Belonging, as research shows that flexible policies can significantly benefit women and people of color," said Eric Severson, Chief People, ESG, and Belonging Officer, NMG. "By prioritizing flexibility and a better work-life integration, we also drive team accountability. Since committing to a remote-first hybrid work environment more than three years ago, we have empowered our teams to focus on the business without the distraction of the return to office debate." 

Leading with Love in Our Communities 
Neiman Marcus Group continues to lead with love by championing the next generation of industry leaders. In FY23, the company partnered with the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) to award a new named scholarship to ten students, designed to empower their pursuit of careers in sustainable and ethical fashion through financial support, executive mentorship, and exclusive access to store programming and industry events. The company looks forward to welcoming its second cohort of NMG x Fashion Scholarship Fund scholars in FY24. 

"FSF is pleased to partner with NMG to provide financial support, mentoring, career development, and educational opportunities for our talented NMG x FSF Scholars," said Peter Arnold, Executive Director, Fashion Scholarship Fund. "Thanks to this partnership, students are embarking on impactful careers within fashion - including opportunities at Neiman Marcus Group. We look forward to watching our partnership grow as we welcome the newest class of 2024 NMG x FSF Scholars later this month." 

Partnerships with Fashion Scholarship Fund, the National Retail Federation Foundation's RISE UP retail career training program, and Boys and Girls Club of America outlined in the report move beyond fundraising and volunteering efforts, playing a key role in NMG's talent attraction strategies.  

More information on Neiman Marcus Group's ESG journey can be found in its 2023 ESG report, Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact. By aligning this report to its fiscal year, NMG empowers its key stakeholders to draw meaningful connections between the company's ESG strategy and ongoing business transformation. 

About Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) 
Neiman Marcus Group is a relationship business that leads with love in everything we do for our customers, associates, brand partners, and communities. Our legacy of innovating and our culture of Belonging guide our roadmap for Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences. As one of the premiere multi-brand luxury retailers in the U.S., with the world's most desirable brand partners, we are delivering exceptional products and intelligent services, enabled by our investments in digital, data and technology. Through the expertise of our 10,000+ associates, we deliver and scale a personalized luxury experience across our three facets of our integrated retail model- in-store, eCommerce, and remote selling. Our NMG Way culture, powered by our people, combines individual talents into a collective strength to make life extraordinary. NMG WOW (Way of Working) is the company's unique, integrated working philosophy that empowers our associates to do their best work, full stop. Our flagship brands include Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. For more information, visit neimanmarcusgroup.com. 

SOURCE Neiman Marcus Group