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This Christmas, Neiman-Marcus Offers A Lake Como Rolls; A Times Square Bash

Neiman-Marcus, which publishes its over-the-top Christmas Book each October, hasn’t disappointed with the 91st edition. Among the big-ticket offerings are a $1.6 million New Year’s Eve party overlooking New York’s Times Square, a pair of limited-edition Rolls-Royce Motor Cars inspired by Lake Como (each about $440,000) and a $300,000 Zambian “experience” with jeweler Stephen Webster, including a take-home 7.2 carat emerald.

For $150,000, Santa will let one lucky champagne lover create 24 bottles of his or her own cuvee at the Armand de Brignac vineyards, spend a night in a chateau and dine at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. For those looking to spend a little less, there’s a $60,000 package for spa-lovers to soak away their holiday stress for a few days at the legendary Four Seasons Hotel George V. (That one includes $8,000 in customized Sisley products.) And for $35,000, there’s an opportunity to take to the skies with photographer Gray Malin, who will host a one-hour helicopter tour over Southern California and provide a signed photograph from the excursion. Looking to spend even less? There’s an $8,000 package of Madame Alexander dolls, including one that is customized.

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The book has also got something to offer those who want to make a difference, with $50 origami ornaments made by an organization called Paper For Water. (Proceeds go to create wells in needy areas, and recipients of the gift help pick the location.)

The New Year’s Eve package is this year’s priciest offering, at $1.6 million, and includes 150 rooms at New York’s Knickerbocker hotel for two nights, a swanky dinner, and a DJ. But about half the gifts this year are priced under $250, with the cheapest being a $9 coloring book.

The new catalog comes at a time when Neiman-Marcus is struggling to find its way in an increasingly omnichannel world, recently announcing a new “digital first” initiative. In its most recent quarterly results, it reported revenues of $1.12 billion, a decrease in comparable revenues of 0.5% from the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, and a decline of 5.2% for the full fiscal year. For the full year, it posted a net loss of $531.8 million, compared to $406.1 million the prior year.

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