The chief of Neiman Marcus said the swanky retailer’s business has remained brisk of late, despite a disappointing report earlier this week from Burberry that clouded the holiday outlook for the luxury sector.
“We haven’t seen a pullback from our consumer,” CEO Karen Katz told analysts during a conference call yesterday. “We haven’t seen a change in her attitude.”
The Dallas-based luxury chain — which also owns the Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue — reported a narrower quarterly loss on increased sales, as a heavy debt load resulting from a leveraged buyout continued to weigh on results.
Nevertheless, Katz admitted that well-heeled shoppers continue to be “very deliberate” in their buying habits as the US slowly recovers from the recession.
On Tuesday, British-based Burberry warned that its sales recently have been surprisingly sluggish. The maker of pricey trench coats and handbags expects results for the remainder of the year will fall at the low end of expectations.
Burberry’s dismal report sent its stock tumbling 21 percent and cast worries on the shopping outlook for China, as well as the US and Europe.
“We certainly have seen less Europeans in New York,” Katz told analysts yesterday, referring to the tourists that fuel business at Bergdorf. She added, however, that “some of that has been offset by Brazilians and Chinese.”
Sales in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended July 28 rose 9.3 percent to $1.01 billion. Neiman cut its loss to $11.1 million, down from $61.4 million a year earlier.
Interest expenses continue to drag down Neiman’s bottom line, a full seven years after it was taken private for $5.1 billion by private-equity firms TPG and Warburg Pincus — a deal that saddled the retailer with debt.
In the most recent quarter, that debt stood at $2.68 billion, little changed from a year earlier. This spring, TPG and Warburg extracted a $443 million cash dividend from the retailer.
While Neiman had hoped to go public this year, those plans have been shelved, according to a source briefed on the company’s plans.