Neiman Marcus Reports July Sales Slump

Neiman Marcus Group suffered a 5.4% drop in direct marketing revenue in July, compared with the same month last year.

The DALLAS-based retailer attributed the decline to a catalog shift and a strong month last year.

Total company revenues dropped by 2.8% to $164.9 million, compared with the same four-week period in 2000. The figures reflect sales through July 28.

Comparable revenues dropped to $163.8 million, compared with $169.7 million last year.

The July slump, which was aggravated by deeper markdowns, is expected to hurt the company