Dive Brief:
- Bergdorf Goodman President Tracy Margolies is stepping aside and Lanessa Elrod, most recently CEO of Louis Vuitton Americas, will take her place effective Monday, parent company Exemplar Luxury Group announced Thursday.
- In addition to her experience at Louis Vuitton, Elrod is a longtime luxury department store buyer, with previous stints at all of Exemplar Luxury Group’s banners – Bergdorf, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
- Margolies has led Bergdorf for the last two years and previously notched decades of merchandising experience there and at Saks Fifth Avenue. She will take the role of executive adviser at Exemplar Luxury Group, reporting to CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck.
Dive Insight:
With this appointment, Bergdorf Goodman, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, is signaling its dedication to continuity and institutional memory.
Writing about her return on LinkedIn, Elrod called it “a deeply special full-circle moment.” In a statement, van Raemdonck said her return “marks an important step in advancing our strategic priorities and further strengthening Bergdorf's position as the pinnacle of luxury."
Of Exemplar’s three full-line banners, Bergdorf largely stayed above the fray as the company, previously known as Saks Global, struggled all last year after Saks acquired Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion. As Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus tussled with vendors over unpaid invoices and unconventional payment terms, Bergdorf has held on to its position as a luxury stalwart on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
After entering bankruptcy court in January, Saks Global exited in June as Exemplar Luxury Group, having slashed its debt by some 75% to under $1 billion.
“Bergdorf's is just fine,” Michael Appel, president of Appel Associates, said by phone. “If they ever have to sell an asset, they can sell Bergdorf's in a minute. If they're willing to sell the whole thing because I don't think anyone's going to buy a minority position in Bergdorf's.”
Last year analysts including Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Retail Equity Analyst Mary Ross Gilbert said they believed Saks Global was seeking a buyer for a 49% stake in Bergdorf Goodman. Holding on to a majority position would have allowed Saks to fully integrate Bergdorf’s results into its balance sheet and beef up its numbers, Gilbert said at the time.
The retailer wasn’t totally insulated from last year’s upheaval at Saks Global, though. Chief merchant Yumi Shin left for Nordstrom this year after Saks Global dropped its attempt to prevent her departure.
