Karen Katz, outgoing CEO of Neiman Marcus, has given an "exit interview" to Women's Wear Daily. Rising from assistant manager in a small Houston store to CEO for seven years, Katz, 61, has spent 32 years at the company. She says there are still huge opportunities for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as long as they offer unique products to their customers. This is in part why she decided to open the first Neiman store in Manhattan, to be opened in Hudson's Yards on three levels and 190 000 sq ft. Although the company's debt remains high, net loss was narrowed in the last fiscal year. Katz's successor, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, former Ralph Lauren and Vuitton executive, will face the challenge of stores that may be too large and which do not, as yet, offer sufficiently distinctive experiences.

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