A Retailer's Lifetime of Lessons Learned

Neimark brought haute couture to Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1970s, expanded the women s store three times, and built the largest men s store on Fifth Avenue in New York. During his 17 years at the helm, he increased store revenue from $35 million annually to $250 million, and it has continued to grow.

Introduced by colorful stories from the life of the legendary retail executive, the guidance falls into four major categories: career, leadership, merchandizing, and public relations. Samples of Neimark s wisdom include:

On career, "It is not so much in what you know, but in how you execute what you know. Another is Get your foot in the door."

On leadership, "Motivating an organization with a bleak past and present requires enthusiasm and courage. Make everyone in the organization know what the plan is in broad detail. Outline to the managers of the business the overall plan in greater detail. And be consistently consistent."

On Merchandising, "Slow moving and old inventory will strangle any business, no matter how many management changes are made."

On Public Relations, "Releasing the same story to all the press at one time may be safe, beneficial and diplomatic, but again, media outlets like all businesses want to be first. You must select the medium that best serves your market."