Neiman Marcus to acquire Mytheresa
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“We are beyond excited about this. This acquisition is an important component of our long-range strategy to more broadly serve affluent customers around the world. Mytheresa has a very nice foothold in Europe and a developing foothold in Asia,” said Karen Katz, president and CEO of the Neiman Marcus Group (NMG), when talking to WWD.
The bold move comes at a time when Neiman Marcus is looking to expand its global presence as well as strengthen its position at home. Just two weeks ago, the company had announced that it would open its first Manhattan store by 2018 on the West Side in Hudson Yards. NMG will also acquire the Theresa flagship in Munich.
Since looking for a buyer in May of this year, Mytheresa and Neiman Marcus came to an agreement in record time after only four months. Mytheresa, founded in 2006 as a way to expand the Theresa store, already generates more than two thirds of its revenue outside of Germany.
Mytheresa to remain independent unit within NMG International
In terms of structure and operations, Mytheresa will be a “complete, independent, separate business unit reporting into me” according to Joshua Schulman, president of Bergdorf Goodman (also operated by Neiman Marcus) and the newly founded NMG International.
The Mytheresa team will remain in Munich with key members including managing directors Dr. Thomas Mueller and Jens Riewenherm and buying director Justin O’Shea continuing in their current roles. An advisory board consisting of Mytheresa founders Christoph and Susanne Botschen and NMG representatives will also be established.
In terms of fit, NMG hopes for a different customer group in terms of age and geographical location. “Although we buy almost the same vendors, they edit with a different eye — for younger customers, for more international customers — than ours. It’s going to be a very nice fit within the Neiman Marcus Group,” commented Katz. Schulman added that Mytheresa as an international, Europe-based business with “a different point of view” than the NMG Web sites is what made it attractive to buy.
Though Schulman said there were no plans to add to the portfolio at this moment, future acquisitions are a possibility, especially in view of the formation of NMG International. The industry expects NMG to disclose the purchase price on Wednesday when its fiscal year-end results are due.