Questions Remain as Saks Global to Shutter Neiman Marcus Downtown, Dallas HQ

An unofficial Dallas landmark will shut its doors forever March 31. As the end of an era for Dallas retail, Neiman Marcus will close its iconic downtown store after more than 100 years in the heart of the city.

The retailer’s new owner Saks Global announced the shocking closure Tuesday, after what they call prolonged but unsuccessful negotiations with the downtown building’s landlord. However, it’s unclear who Neiman’s downtown landlord is.

With Pending Closure, Will the Flagship Neiman Marcus 1914 Building Come Down?

In a letter to shoppers, Scott Mitchell, vice president and market general manager for Neiman Marcus NorthPark and Downtown, said the company received a notice of lease termination from its landlord in the Central Business District.

“For more than a century, Neiman Marcus has been a beloved institution in the Downtown Dallas community and we are disappointed to be losing a piece of our history due to circumstances beyond our control,” Mitchell said.

Despite speculation, the closure is not tied to Neiman Marcus’ recent acquisition by Saks Global, nor is it a reflection of business performance, according to an internal memo from Marc Metrick, CEO of Saks Global Operating Group. Saks Global comprises the Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman brands,

“From as early as 2011 and as recently as December 2024, there have been several attempts to come to a commercially reasonable agreement with this landlord,” Metrick stated in the memo obtained by the Dallas Morning News. “All of these attempts have been rejected by the landlord who has now terminated our occupancy.”

Still, the timing is uncanny considering Saks announced just a few days ago that it was shuttering Neiman Marcus headquarters in the Dallas Cityplace building on Central Expressway.

Remote Work Prevails, Neiman Marcus Offices Also Closing

Neiman Marcus has occupied three floors of the CityPlace Tower after relocating from atop its flagship store downtown in 2023.

According to Saks, its office employees in Dallas only showed up in person 11 days a year on average. The offices were built to accommodate upwards of 800 workers, but Neiman Marcus’ embrace of remote work in the wake of the pandemic rendered its 85,000 square feet of leased space practically unused, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The move signals a concession in the corporate saber-rattling over remote work. A number of high-profile firms have been requiring their employees to go back to the office, arguing that remote work has resulted in a pronounced decline in productivity and workplace culture.

Remote work has obviously done a number on the commercial real estate sector, with office vacancies driving a string of adaptive reuse conversions to multifamily residential units, as previously reported by CandysDirt.com.

From Cubicles to Condos: Dallas Ranks High in Office Conversions

Saks Seemingly Broke Several Agreements

Saks Global said it made the decision to shutter Neiman’s Dallas headquarters after reviewing its lease, but the abrupt move seems to have caused a bit of a dust-up with both CityPlace Tower ownership and the City of Dallas.

NexPoint, the firm that owns CityPlace Tower, claimed the lease just can’t be ended so easily.

“While we received notice of termination from Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) for their lease at CityPlace Tower, we do not believe their lease allows for such termination,” the company said in a statement, per WFAA. “As such, we are looking to engage in conversations with the NMG team to identify a path forward.”

Dallas city officials may also feel blindsided. It appears the closing of Neiman Marcus’ flagship store downtown violates an incentive package deal the city awarded the company for maintaining its headquarters in Dallas.

Who’s the Landlord?

And back to the question of Neiman Marcus’ unnamed downtown landlord — According to the Dallas County Appraisal District, NMG Holding Company Inc. owns the building at 1618 Main St.

Since 1999 — the earliest available online property tax records available, the owner’s name was listed as Neiman Marcus Stores. In 2024, the owner’s name changed to NMG Holding Company Inc., doing business as the Neiman Marcus Group. The owner’s longtime address, 1201 Elm St., Suite 2800 at Renaissance Tower, yields no DCAD search results.

Under the agreement, Neiman Marcus was required to retain no fewer than 1,100 full-time jobs in Dallas proper through 2023, create 300 new full-time jobs in the city before 2027, and maintain its downtown location through the end of 2031, among other stipulations related to its move into CityPlace Tower. In exchange, the City of Dallas gave the company $5.25 million in taxpayer grants. Neiman Marcus’ defaulting on the agreement appears to entitle the City to at least some of its money back.

Before the news broke about the downtown store’s closing, city officials told WFAA that they were monitoring the lease dispute between Saks and NexPoint, stating, “[I]n the event of a default, the City has the right to seek to recapture the permitting fee reimbursements paid to date and [Neiman Marcus] would forfeit all remaining incentives.”

A Fixture of Dallas Luxury Retail

With the downtown store’s closure, Saks Global plans to invest $100 million into Neiman Marcus’ NorthPark Center location to enhance its luxury offerings and customer experience.

“Dallas is an important market for us, and we remain highly committed to upholding Neiman Marcus’ legacy there,” company officials told The Dallas Morning News. “We see a long-term opportunity to invest in our Dallas shopping experience and look forward to serving customers at our other locations.”

For over a century, the Neiman Marcus flagship on Main Street has been a cornerstone of Dallas’ high-end retail scene. The store has weathered countless changes — from shifts in downtown development to the rise of online shopping — but its legacy of luxury and impeccable service has remained.

Employees impacted by the closure will have opportunities to transfer to other locations when possible, and eligible workers will receive severance packages, Metrick noted.

Metrick also acknowledged the loss of the beloved Zodiac Room, the store’s historic restaurant, but said its famous recipes would live on at other Neiman Marcus locations.

Saks Global completed its $2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group late last year, and earlier this month, the company closed the retailer’s corporate headquarters at Cityplace Tower in a cost-cutting move.

“We are confident we can serve our loyal downtown clients at our other Dallas-Fort Worth locations, including nearby at NorthPark, and online at NeimanMarcus.com,” Metrick stated.

Neiman Marcus also has locations at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano and The Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth.