Carrie Marcus Neiman
| Carrie Marcus Neiman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Carrie Marcus May 3, 1883 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Died | March 6, 1953 (aged 69) Dallas, Texas |
| Occupation | Cofounder and Chair of Neiman Marcus board |
| Spouse(s) | Abraham Lincoln Neiman (1905–1928; divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Jacob and Delia (Bloomfield) Marcus |
Carrie Marcus Neiman (May 3, 1883 – March 6, 1953) was an American businessperson and one of the cofounders of Neiman Marcus, a luxury department store.
Carrie Marcus was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Jewish German immigrants Delia (Bloomfield) and Jacob Marcus. Jacob was a cotton broker, a fairly common occupation in the South. In 1895 the family moved to Hillsboro, Texas. Carrie did not receive a formal education but was educated at home in a European milieu, reading German newspapers and studying European fashion magazines. In 1899, she followed her older siblings to Dallas, where she worked as a saleswoman at A. Harris and Company, a local department store, and became a top salesgirl.
She met Abraham Lincoln "Al" Neiman in Dallas, and they married shortly after, on April 25, 1905. She joined her husband, her brother Herbert, and his wife Minnie in a sales promotion business—the Neiman-Marcus Sales Firm—based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their success brought them a choice: accept a buyout from a local merchant, or promote a new (and risky) product, Coca-Cola. The family sold their business for $25,000 and returned to Dallas in 1907 to start an entirely new type of business.
In the early 1900s, most women with money went to dressmakers, and many Texans traveled to New York, or even Europe, to find the best seamstresses and the most contemporary styles. Carrie, Al, Herbert, and Minnie wanted to bring fine, ready-made clothing to Texas. Their exact motivations remain unclear, but Carrie's previous experience with department stores, and the group's successful sales business likely influenced their decision.
In 1907, Carrie, Al, and Herman started Neiman Marcus, with the men handling finances and logistics, and Carrie in charge of choosing what goods to sell—a combination of farm goods and readymade fashion. She traveled to New York and Paris to choose garments that met her standards of simplicity and elegance. Carrie was recovering in the hospital from typhoid fever on opening day, but the store was a resounding success from the beginning.
The efforts of the founding families, their employees, and the success of the Texas cotton, cattle and later oil and related industries made Neiman Marcus a continuing and growing success story. Carrie and many others became a part of Dallas and retailing history and she was designated a "symbol of elegance" by Holiday (magazine).
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