Neiman Marcus offers details of new ‘corporate hubs’ strategy
Neiman Marcus is looking to revolutionize the way the company works.
The luxury retailer said it is opening a network of “corporate hubs” designed to support its integrated working philosophy, which it calls NMG/Way of Woking (NMG/WOW). The strategy, launched in 2020, allows most corporate employees to allocate their time and choose their location based on what drives the best results.
The company envisions the NMG organization as a network consisting of hubs of all kinds — ranging from its stores and distribution centers to an associate’s home office — that best serve its employees and their needs.
NMG has selected Cityplace Tower in the Uptown area of Dallas for its Dallas hub. The site is located between Neiman Marcus’ downtown Dallas and NorthPark flagships. The space will go through extensive renovations to support the retailer's integrated ways of working. It is expected to open in early 2023.
The luxury retailer is also exploring other locations for corporate hubs where it has large employee concentrations. The hubs will reinforce NMG's "omni" work culture by creating collaborative, seamlessly digital and physical spaces, meeting rooms and work stations instead of permanent desks.
"Our NMG|WOW philosophy empowers our associates to work whenever, however, and wherever to achieve their best results," said Eric Severson, VP, chief people and belonging officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "Our strategy is working, and we are seeing strong business performance, more productivity and satisfaction among our associates, and we are standing out among our competitors in a very challenging job market."
The retailer said it is seeing great results from the strategy, with retention up and time-to-hire down in fiscal year 2022 compared to fiscal year 2019.
"The pandemic gave us the perfect opportunity to fast-track the revolutionary way our internal corporate teams are working and look for opportunities to innovate," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO, Neiman Marcus Group. "With the implementation of our NMG|WOW program and the future opening of our corporate hubs, our associates will have a number of resources at their disposal to achieve results and best support our customers."
Neiman Marcus is not alone among retailers in reimagining how and where its corporate work. Outdoor gear and apparel retailer REI has also moved away from the traditional retail HQ model. And most recently, Rite Aid unveiled its new corporate headquarters, which takes a “remote-first” approach and has no personal offices.
[Read more: Rite Aid opens new headquarters — with no permanent workforce]