Dallas-based Neiman Marcus has a number of initiatives under way, including the possibility of bringing stores and online shopping to China. The luxury retailer also plans to make an announcement relating to credit cards on Oct. 28. (Neimans has gotten some criticism for its policy of not accepting Mastercard or Visa cards in its stores.)

These pursuits, among others, will “enhance and transform the shopping experience for our customers, which will increase our store business, along with the growth we’re seeing online,” said Neva Hall, executive vice president of Neiman Marcus.

Hall made the comments Oct. 12 at a Dallas Leaders Breakfast hosted by the Texas-Oklahoma chapter of the International Interior Design Association. “Neiman Marcus has a great brand that has always been focused on merchandise and service excellence,” she said. “Our brands have always been innovative, and innovation will be the key to our future. … We have to be nimble and flexible to stay current in our customers’ minds.”

Many of the initiatives are built around technology—leveraging it to enhance customer service and grow e-commerce sales, which Hall says the company expects to double in the next five years. Neiman Marcus’ sales for fiscal 2011 were $4 billion; $800 million of that, or about 20 percent, came from online purchases, she said.

The company was the first luxury retailer to have an e-commerce site; it also has blogs and is active on Facebook and Twitter. “The 21st century will be very different from the 20th century,” Hall said. “The customer is now controlling the shopping experience.”

Neiman Marcus currently has 42 stores, including one that’s slated to open outside of San Francisco in March. Thirty-five million people shop in the stores each year, with a conversion rate (those who make purchases) of between 30 and 40 percent, Hall said, a high number when measured against industry standards. Comparatively, the company’s various e-commerce sites attract 101 million shoppers a year, with a conversion rate that hovers around 3.5 percent.

“That’s 3.5 international shoppers we wouldn’t have without that website,” Hall said. Fifteen percent of the online shoppers international customers.

Looking ahead, Neiman Marcus aims to “retain, reactivate, and acquire customers in each and every channel,” she said, through five primary strategies: omnichannel experience, international business, e-commerce sales, customer service, and modernizing the brand.

• Omnichannel Experience. Hall said the company has developed an omnichannel strategy that allows customers to “shop with us anywhere, anytime, anyplace.” Two weeks ago, it rolled out a shared inventory process across all channels in a few departments. The program has been “quite successful in a very short period of time,” she said. The plan involves giving customers access to the same products and information whether they’re shopping in a store or online. It also involves aligning policies and procedures between the two channels, a goal Neiman Marcus hopes to achieve within the next year.

• International Business. The company aims to expand internationally through its online operation first. However, it is investigating both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce opportunities in China. Neiman Marcus teams have been to China three times so far to do research, and are working “aggressively” on the opportunity, Hall said. “What will affect us is the influx of Chinese travelers,” she said. “They do business in a certain way, they have a specific mindset of what they’re looking for. And because of the sheer [size of the market], we have to make sure we have the depth of product [that Chinese shoppers] are looking for, based on their interests. We have to understand their culture, and how we size differently.” Neimans is already working to attract more Chinese traveler customers in its gateway stores—those in markets like Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Las Vegas.

• E-commerce Sales. The retailer aims to double its e-commerce sales within five years. It’s also expecting to see significant in-store growth. Things are already improving, Hall said, with September numbers up 10 percent overall, and 8.5 percent in stores. The key is getting customers engaged with both platforms, as they’re likely to spend up to four times more, she said.

• Customer Service. The retailer has long considered itself as being very strong in customer service, according to Hall, but it has become even more serious about it. “We really spent the last three years working very seriously on this project,” she said. “We hope to exceed your expectations.” Among other things, Neiman Marcus has changed its return policy, which was liberal to begin with, Hall said. It also is embarking on a program to add personal stylists in its stores, in addition to the personal shoppers for which the company is well known.

• Modernizing the Brand. The over-arching goal is to create trans-generational appeal by focusing on four strategies: atmosphere, merchandising, technology, and marketing.

In terms of atmosphere, Neiman Marcus has installed new music in its stores, not just new sounds but a new system, one that’s built around the iPad and playlists. It also has major store renovations under way in Bal Harbor, Fla.; on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, in Beverly Hills, and in Boston. And there’s a plan to take its Cusp stores—smaller specialty shops aimed at a younger demographic—inside its larger venues to replace its Contemporary departments. Hall said the retailer has used its six Cusp stores “as laboratories for this evolution that you’re going to see in Neiman Marcus stores. We’re rebranding Contemporary as Cusp; it’s very different than what you’re used to seeing.”

The retailer has increased its capital allocations significantly, she said, “by millions, to better maintain and upgrade our stores. Now that we are through the recession, we hope, we have opened up our wallets. And we are adding new shops continuously, as a fashion retailer should.”

With regard to merchandising, Neimans continues to develop new businesses, such as Luxury Essentials, which offers exclusive, easy-to-wear pieces in multiple colors. “And that’s how people are buying—in multiples,” Hall said. Another concept, a casual line called On the Go, has already been installed at NorthPark.

The third piece to its modernization kick is technology, which Neiman Marcus is jumping into in a big way. It is equipping all of its sales associates and managers with iPhones, an initiative it has launched in 10 stores so far. This allows associates to take photos of in-store items and text to their clients, for example, enabling customers to get the one-on-one service they’re used to, without having to physically be in a store.

“They cannot get this type of personalization on the web,” Hall said. Neiman Marcus is able to load the phones with its own technology and give sales associates readily available, secure access to their customers’ contact information.

It’s also testing iPads in two stores, using them as virtual “Look Books.” It plans to launch the technology in its shoes and handbags departments first. The iPads will be loaded with all available inventory, both in-store and online. “It’s going to change the way people shop,” Hall said. “Shoes and handbags are among our fastest-growing businesses; we think we’re going to capture quite a bit of market share with this.”

Other technology strategies involve using more videos in stores to describe promotions, how to use a product, or showcase an interview with a product’s creator, for example.

The final modernization tactic is marketing. “As a retailer, if you’re not blogging, posting, tweeting, and texting, you’re going to be left behind,” Hall said. Neiman Marcus has hired a team to manage blogs and tweets and respond to customer service inquires that get posted on Facebook.

Part of the company’s DNA, Hall said, is seeking out what’s new and staying innovative. She referenced pioneering initiatives such as its InCircle loyalty program, bringing luxury retail to the web, and using world-famous photographers to shoot spreads for fashion magazines.

In a Q&A session that followed the speech, Hall was asked what would surprise late chairman and retailing guru Stanley Marcus the most about where the luxury chain is headed. “Knowing Stanley, he was most concerned about the homogenization of retail, with everything starting to look the same,” she said. “So we are always very focused on differentiating ourselves, whether it’s product, merchandising, technology, or marketing to our customers.

“I think he would be fascinated by the technology [initiatives], and I think he would be at the forefront of it. It [has become] a very critical way to serve customers, and I think it will sustain us going forward.”