Direct Offsets Neiman Marcus Nov. Decline; Saks Reports Dip

Strong catalog and online sales apparently helped take some of the sting out of an otherwise tough November for Neiman Marcus.

The luxury retailer reported yesterday that comparable revenue at Neiman Marcus Direct for Nov. 2009 was up 18.1% from the same period last year.

At the same time, Neiman Marcus reported that comparable revenue in its Specialty Retail Stores segment, which includes Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman, decrease 12.7%.

Same store sales dropped 7.5% from $323 million to $299 million, the retailer reported.

Total sales fell 5.9% from $324 million in Nov. 2008 to $305 million in Nov. 2009, Neiman Marcus reported.

In other retail news, Saks Inc. reported yesterday that sales at stores owned at least a year dropped 26.1% for November.

Total sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 28, 2009 were $245 million, a drop of 25.1% from the same period a year ago, Saks reported.

The Saks Fifth Avenue stores and Saks Direct experienced weakness across nearly all merchandise categories during the month, the retailer reported.