For the CEO of an embattled retailer amidst the worst imaginable environment for brick-and-mortar purveyors, Neiman Marcus’ Geoffroy van Raemdonck does have a lot to be happy about right now. He’s just steered company out of bankruptcy and seen his chief nemesis vanquished and humiliated, earning judicial tongue-lashings up to the very end, all the while earning something like $10 million for himself. Still, amidst the furloughs, layoffs, pay cuts, store closings and global pandemic, perhaps this was not the best way to celebrate.
The 11-page PaperCity spread showcases the “1927 Italianate-style house” van Raemdonck shares with his interior-designer husband, Alvise Orsini, which is filled to the brim with expensive touches, including artworks by Andy Warhol, “silk cover walls” and 18th-century French and Italian furniture…. Van Raemdonck and Orsini are shown in the glossy spread lounging atop a “custom sofa . . . upholstered in silk velvet.” Above them are two prints from Warhol’s “Reigning Queens” series….
“He either doesn’t care or he’s tone-deaf,” one employee griped to The Post. “Everyone is wondering why [he] agreed to show off the house while health care, bankruptcy and layoffs are the main topics for Neiman Marcus.”
Well, it seems he has a like mind in Hertz’s R. Eric Esper, who after just over a month is taking his bankruptcy-honed CFOing talents to less-bankrupt companies where the bonuses will presumably be better and not subject to judicial veto.
Mr. Esper is leaving Hertz to become chief accounting officer and controller at United Natural Foods Inc., a Providence, R.I.-based food distributor, according to a regulatory filing…. Mr. Esper is forfeiting his “retention bonus under the Company’s Key Employee Retention Program,” according to Monday’s regulatory filing. It is unclear how much his retention bonus was worth.
Neiman Marcus CEO shows off mansion while employees get pink slips [N.Y. Post]
An Italianate in Lakewood [Paper City Magazine]
Marble Ridge Reaches Agreement With Neiman Marcus—but a Texas Judge Has Sharp Words for the Hedge Fund [II]
U.S. Retail Bankruptcies, Store Closures Hit Record in First Half [WSJ]
Hertz CFO Steps Down After Less Than Two Months, Forfeits Bonus [WSJ]