Back in 2006 when Neiman Marcus launched its Cusp contemporary fashion concept with two standalone stores, the company was hoping to connect with a new, twenty- or thirty-something shopper without alienating its core customer base.
At the time, CEO Burton Tansky told The Wall Street Journal that unlike the Neiman Marcus customer who wore the same designer from head to toe, the Cusp shopper "likes to mix and match her wardrobe from various designers."
Fast-forward to 2012 and there are now six standalone units, an e-commerce site (Cusp.com) and Neiman Marcus has just announced it will rebrand all the contemporary departments at its 42 stores as Cusp shop-in-shops.
"Integrating our free-standing specialty store concept, Cusp, into our full-line stores and e-commerce site allows us to bring fresh energy and excitement to our contemporary business and continue the progression of our omni-channel transformation," said Jim Gold, president, specialty retail, in NMDaily, the Neiman Marcus blog. "From the merchandise offering to the store vibe, Cusp has a distinctive look and attitude. ... Our goal is to give our contemporary customer a fun, unique, modern and unexpected shopping experience."
Neiman Marcus announced the change along with its most recent financials in which the company posted eight percent same-store sales growth and a jump in profits of 35 percent.
