Neiman Marcus reveals fantasy gifts, customization for holidays
Neiman Marcus Group’s annual holiday promotion includes outlandish fantasy gifts, as well as a more grounded set of curated and customized goods and services.
The luxury retailer is releasing the 95th edition of its iconic “Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.” First published in 1926 as a 16-page booklet, the book was intended as a Christmas card to Neiman Marcus’ best customers. Over the years, the book has evolved into a legendary source of holiday gifts, including exorbitantly priced “fantasy gifts.”
Released as part of the launch of the Neiman Marcus “Celebrate Big, Love Even Bigger” 2021 holiday campaign, this year’s book includes fantasy gifts such as the 30.86-carat Mughal Heart diamond that includes the bonus of naming the stone through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), for $6.1 million; as well as the somewhat more affordably priced Roaring Twenties Party hosted by Bronson Van Wyck at the Apollo Theater in Harlem ($395,000).
For the more budget-conscious holiday shopper, Neiman Marcus is offering curated gift boxes for purchase online, priced from $82–$4,458. The boxes featuring collections of items by theme, from Self-Care Stars to Travel Enhancers to Kids' Smile Starters. This is the first year for Neiman Marcus to offer these box sets, which also include curated products inspired by the fantasy gift assortment.
In addition, Neiman Marcus style advisors are available to make hand-picked product suggestions based on individual customer wishes. Style advisors will guide customers through in-store consultations or virtual video calls, emails, texts, or direct messages. Customers can also visit in-store gift suites, where style advisors will help customers customize their own gift boxes with items from anywhere in the store.
And select Neiman Marcus stores will be hosting Santa for in-person visits. For customers who are unable to visit in person, Santa will be available for virtual one-on-one visits.
“Celebrate Big, Love Even Bigger” features over 250 luxury brands across women's, men's, children's, home, and beauty categories. The 360-degree marketing campaign includes across multimedia, print and digital advertising, in-store visuals and events, social media, and native content, including a hero campaign video launching Oct. 27 across YouTube, Facebook, Hulu, NBC and MNTN.
The video’s visual narrative is set to a contemporary rendition of the classic song "It Had to Be You," performed by independent pop singer and songwriter Rachel Norman and an accompanying jazz orchestra. The song will be available for streaming over multiple platforms such as iTunes, Apple Music, and Youtube Music; and featured on Neiman Marcus' Spotify holiday playlists.
Neiman Marcus has been making strategic investments, such a $500 million-plus planned gross investment in digital technology over the next three years to support its integrated luxury retail strategy, since financially restructuring in spring 2021. At the end of April 2021, Neiman Marcus reported total outstanding debt of $1.1 billion, compared to $5.1 billion the prior year. The retailer currently has available liquidity of over $850 million, compared to $132 million a year ago, and has no borrowings outstanding on a $900 million revolver.
"Just like our customers, we are incredibly excited and grateful for everything this holiday season has to offer and are taking none of it for granted," said Lana Todorovich, president and chief merchandising officer, Neiman Marcus. "There is plenty to feel joyful about, and we wanted to channel that into ‘The Christmas Book’ and our ‘Celebrate Big’ campaign for our customers to experience with us. From our assortment of extraordinary gifts—including legendary fantasy gifts—to our in-store gifting lounges and experiences, we're prepared to help our customers make this one of the most special holidays as we return to celebrating in person again with our families and friends."
"Creating human connections and building relationships are at the heart of everything we do at Neiman Marcus, even more so this holiday season," said Daz McColl, chief marketing officer, Neiman Marcus. "Our campaign video underscores that connection and invigorating feeling of love we'll be experiencing on many levels this season. As a campaign, ‘Celebrate Big, Love Even Bigger’ is our expression of the joy we are looking forward to sharing with our customers wherever and however they connect with us—in stores, online, or through our style advisors."
Based in Dallas, Neiman Marcus operates 37 stores and an e-commerce platform in the U.S., as well as remote selling and personalization technology.