# Ira Neimark

Ira Neimark (December 12, 1921 – April 18, 2019) was an American author, lecturer, and retail executive. He served as Chairman and CEO of Bergdorf Goodman from 1975 to 1992. During his tenure, he reintroduced French haute couture to New York with the assistance of Aaron Elisha and designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, and Christian Dior. This reintroduction contributed to a period of growth for Bergdorf Goodman, with sales increasing from $18 million in 1975 to $250 million in 1992. Neimark also expanded the women's store and, in 1991, opened the Bergdorf Goodman Men's Store across the street from the main location in New York City.

## Early life

Neimark was born on December 12, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of attorney Eugene G. Neimark and Lillian (Braude) Neimark. After his father's death, Neimark, then 16, sought employment in late 1938. He was hired by Bonwit Teller for "a Christmas job as a page[boy] in the store's 721 Club for men, a shop offering a sampling of the store's best items." After the Christmas season of 1938, he continued to work for Bonwit Teller as a doorboy, greeting customers. In 1940, he was promoted to office boy by the store president, and then to stock boy in 1941.

## Retail career

After his service in WWII, Neimark returned to Bonwit Teller, serving as manager of Merchandise Control, and then as assistant to the president. He was later promoted to blouse buyer before moving to McCreery's in New York in 1950. In 1951, he was hired by Gladdings in Providence, Rhode Island, as divisional merchandise manager for $9,000 a year.$^{:43}$ In 1959, he moved to G. Fox & Co. in Hartford, Connecticut, as assistant to the general merchandise manager. Soon after, G. Fox's owner, Beatrice Fox Auerbach, asked him to assume the presidency of Brown Thompson, one of the company's affiliated stores. In 1967, he returned from Brown Thompson and was made vice president and general merchandise manager of G. Fox & Co. After Auerbach's death, Neimark moved to B. Altman and Company, located at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York, where he became executive vice-president and general merchandise manager in 1970. In 1975, he succeeded Andrew Goodman as the head of Bergdorf Goodman, becoming the first non-family-member to lead the company since its founding in 1899.
Neimark aimed to transform the store from what he described as "old, dull, expensive, and intimidating" to "young, exciting, expensive, and intimidating".$^{:153}$ To that end, he recruited Dawn Mello to head the store's fashion office.
Neimark implemented a strategy to bring top designers from around the world into an exclusive arrangement with Bergdorf Goodman. The first step of the "Italian Strategy",$^{:166}$ which exemplified this approach, was to attract the house of Fendi to Bergdorf Goodman through personal contact and the promise of strong promotion and prominent placement.
Bergdorf Goodman became known for doing extravaganzas, which garnered attention from The New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, and celebrities.
In 1981, the store organized a show for Fendi furs at the nearby Pulitzer Fountain.
Donna Karan and Michael Kors also had their careers launched through fashion shows at Bergdorf Goodman.

## Professional honors

The governments of Italy and France awarded Neimark the Cavaliere Della Republica and the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, respectively, as well as the Medal of the City of Paris. He was a Director Emeritus of Hermés of Paris and formerly a director of The Fashion Institute of Technology Foundation.

## Personal life

While working at Gladdings in Providence, Rhode Island, Neimark dated Jackie Myers, the handbag buyer for T.W. Rounds, which specialized in prestige leather goods and had 11 locations in New England at its peak. She is the daughter of Harry M. and Yetta Goodman Myers, who owned T.W. Rounds. They married on March 10, 1953, and had two daughters.
Neimark died on April 18, 2019, at his home in Harrison, New York.