Neiman Marcus’ Oil Spill

Neiman Marcus is having flashbacks of the last recession. Sales are falling, clothes are piling up, and the company is pruning orders for the fall. Hope of an upcoming IPO — for which it filed plans last August — has dimmed.CEO Karen Katz didn’t come out and use the “R” word during the company’s earnings call this week to describe the economic environment. But she did mention putting the recession playbook to use, saying it would take the better part of a year to work through all Neiman Marcus’ extra inventory.The culprit this time around is an epic oil and gas price slump. A fifth of Neiman Marcus stores are located in the oil-producing state of Texas, with shoppers whose wealth is tied to the business, and Katz said energy-price declines are causing customers to cut spending. Low gasoline prices, which can sometimes help boost the spending of lower-end consumers, don’t do much to pad the pockets of big spenders buying $24,000 Gucci handbags. Read more at Bloomberg.