After almost 100 years of publishing a Christmas gift catalog, Neiman Marcus, a luxury department store, has removed the word “Christmas” from its iconic catalog.
According to Fox Business, Neiman Marcus has printed a “Christmas Book” gift catalog of luxury items since 1926. The New York Post reported that the company’s sudden decision to change the name of the gift catalog from “Christmas Book” to “Holiday Book” this year has been met with criticism from employees at the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Sources told The New York Post that employees have been discontent with the way Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck has changed the company, including the implementation of layoffs and company restructurings.
“If Geoffroy and his team put as much time into running the business as they did on expressing viewpoints about DEI, we would be buying Saks or launching an IPO,” one employee told The New York Post. “Instead, my job is at risk because of our business failure.”
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A company spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News that the removal of the word Christmas from this year’s gift catalog and the change to “Holiday Book” was “in the spirit of inclusivity as it welcomes customers of all backgrounds, religions and traditions to celebrate the season.”
One Neiman Marcus employee told The New York Post that they learned about the reason behind the name change from the article published by The Dallas Morning News.
“We found out via the Dallas Morning News article,” the employee said. “The book didn’t need a name change. Personal opinions about inclusion — from Geoffroy and his leadership team — changed this.”
Pictures of this year’s gift catalog have been shared on X, formerly Twitter, by The New York Post. The outlet noted that while the catalog has been renamed “Holiday Book,” the catalog cover does not include the new name. Instead, the cover features the company’s current marketing slogan, “A Neiman’s Fantasy.”
The New York Post noted that this Christmas will be the final holiday season for Neiman Marcus before the company is acquired by HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue. One company employee told The New York Post, “We do feel that this was a last hurrah for Geoffroy.”
