Just as Downtown Dallas’ flagship Neiman Marcus store was set to shutter for good on March 31, parent company Saks Global announced that the store would remain open, at least for now.
The iconic storefront, a fixture of downtown Dallas for over a century, was scheduled to close Monday, but a last-minute agreement will keep the shop open. The news comes just weeks after Saks Global’s chief executive officer, Marc Metrick, called the decision to close the store final.
“We’re committed to the Neiman Marcus name, period, but in Dallas, absolutely. This is not something that can be messed with,” Metrick told NBC 5 DFW.
“I think when you say your decision is final, it’s final. But what you have to do is you have to weigh again. You don’t want to get out and say, well, it’s 99 percent. That’s not something how you want to run a business.”
The previously assumed impending closure prompted reflection on the establishment’s storied past, like the many extravagant Fortnight celebrations the flagship store hosted over the years.
The City of Dallas has been involved in trying to save the landmark location. Saks Global initially said they were forced to vacate the historic property by the end of March at the direction of the owners of the property at Main and Ervay.
“It’s unfortunate, but when you’re in my position and my team, you’re looking at it from your employees and your associates. And while the city was making a compelling case to the company, we didn’t want to give people any false sense of what was happening,” Metrick said.
While news of the location remaining open came just before it was set to close, Metrick says Saks Global has been working with city officials for weeks to save the store.
“I think it’s about really building or rebuilding this whole downtown corridor and they’re committed to working with us all the way through and how that happens and in what shape that takes form,” said Metrick.
For now, the store is expected to remain open through the 2025 holiday season. However, its fate beyond that point remains unclear. Saks Global and the City of Dallas are currently considering ways the iconic store can be reimagined, but no details have been shared.
Impacted employees who were offered severance amid initial plans to shutter the location were all contacted and offered a position to return to work at the store, said a representative for Neiman Marcus.