What: Neiman Marcus CEO publicly stands against the US e-commerce split-up trend.

Why it is important: So far, only analysts and media took position against what is a wave propelled by activist investors, eager to generate signicant ROI out of an industry seen as belonging to the “old world” by investors sandards.

During an investors’ call, Geoffroy Van Raemdonck, CEO of Neiman Marcus, dismissed the idea of considering an e-commerce split from the main department store activity, joining in saying so the likes of media such as Coresight, Financial Times or Forbes. While Macy’s or Kohl’s are under pressure from activist investors to consider doing so, Neiman Marcus has the luxury of being private and therefore being spared the pressure.

Even though the Saks Fifth Avenue precedent allowed them to secure $500m in private funding, the move is perceived by analysts as being mainly financial, and, for this reason, potentially creating operational hurdles. Van Raemdonck sees the move as potentially interfering with the smooth integration of all customer channels.

Neiman Marcus Group pushes back against e-commerce split