Former Bergdorf Goodman chief merchant Yumi Shin has taken a newly created role at Nordstrom, executive vice president of global brand partnerships, the department store confirmed by email. She oversees the luxury and beauty businesses — including merchandising strategies and brand partnerships across designer, beauty, handbags and jewelry — and reports to chief merchant Jamie Nordstrom.
Shin was expected to take a top merchandising position at Nordstrom last year but Saks Global sued her, alleging she had breached a noncompete agreement. Saks Global, now in the midst of bankruptcy, voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit in late March, according to documents filed with a federal district court in Texas.
Shin has also dropped a counterclaim filed in Delaware Chancery court. Neither Nordstrom nor Saks Global responded to a request for more details on a settlement between the parties mentioned in legal filings.
The dispute was something of an aberration at a time when Saks Global was letting many top executives go. The luxury retailer – formed when Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman combined in late 2024 in a $2.7 billion deal – spent 2025 struggling to pay vendors. Sales suffered as a result, and early this year Saks Global filed under Chapter 11.
As Saks Global has struggled, Nordstrom and rival Bloomingdale’s have benefited, picking up market share and hiring former Saks, Neiman and Bergdorf merchants and executives. Early last year, Nordstrom hired personal stylist Catherine Bloom, known for “Bloom’s Room” on the second floor of Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.
Much of Shin’s work, at least at first, will be focused on Nordstrom’s New York City flagship. She is working on a redesign of the store’s handbag department and next year will tackle the shoe floor, the company said. Also on the agenda is a revamp of the Nordstrom men’s store across the street and an expansion of the fine-jewelry hall; the latter will apply across the fleet.
This fall, under Shin’s direction, Nordstrom will debut The Edit, “a lifestyle-driven concept” curated with tailored, everyday sportswear and featuring both established and emerging designers like Kallmeyer, Nour Hammour, High Sport, Rohe, Heirlom, Jamie Haller and Lisa Yang. This project builds off the Space at Nordstrom, which similarly presents known and new brands including Act N1, SA SU PHI, Pillings, Matières Fécales, Ossou, Lii and Colleen Allen.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Shin said Nordstrom has “the scale of a national retailer with the soul of a specialty store” and that she is “thrilled to be joining at such a pivotal moment.”
“With Nordstrom’s vast footprint across the country, not just in major metros, it allows luxury brand partners to reach a geographically diverse, high-value customer,” she said.
