Tansky and his team on Wednesday projected a proactive stance and detailed a recovery plan, citing: -- Salary and staff cuts at stores and headquarters, including centralizing marketing and fashion office functions to further reduce payroll and create a consistent and focused voice to consumers. Previously, there were separate marketing teams at Neiman's, Bergdorf Goodman and NM Direct. Overall, NMG is operating with 16 percent fewer associates than a year ago.

-- Reducing inventories, with receipts down 25 percent for fall, although they are not expected to be aligned to demand for several seasons, as Neiman's works to flow through fashion products faster than basics.

-- Overall, reducing expenses by $125 million on an annual basis.

-- Creating new types of special events to lure customers. They're often smaller and more intimate, and involve charities and gift card opportunities.

-- Negotiating with developers to possibly postpone store openings, but not this September's opening in The Shops at the Bravern in Bellevue, Wash., a suburb of Seattle. The store will mark Neiman's debut in the Pacific Northwest. "We are scrutinizing all proposed projects with a heightened degree before we commit capital," Tansky said. Stores are planned for Walnut Creek, Calif., and Sarasota, Fla., in fall 2011; San Jose, Calif., in 2012; Princeton, N. J., in 2013, and Oyster Bay, N.Y., where there is no opening date, as the mall there has yet to be built.

-- Trimming store hours at certain locations to better schedule associates for peak traffic hours and away from down times.

Also on Neiman's austerity agenda — bringing prices down via a shift in the merchandising mix toward more midtier pricing, within collections currently carried, without trading down.

"Let me assure you, we are not trading down," Tansky stated. "We are simply rebalancing our assortments to offer our customers more opportunities, more options within a designer collection or a classification. I am pleased to say that most [designers] were very receptive to our plans. We are confident that this process will be a very collaborative effort, though it's not happening overnight." Some initial changes will be evident this fall, but the shift will be much more noticeable for spring 2010.

Total revenues dropped 19.7 percent to $232 million for the period, compared with $288 million for the four weeks ended Feb. 23, 2008.

In the four-week February period, same-store sales in the Specialty Retail Stores segment, which includes Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman, decreased 24.2 percent.

The company experienced weakness across all geographies and merchandise categories in the Specialty Retail Stores segment.

The reduction in the luxury retailer's 16,000 employees is the result of an efficiency review that started several months ago, said Ginger Reeder, a company spokeswoman.

"This is something we do every five or 10 years, and the negative impact of the economy has accelerated the importance of that effort," Reeder said. "There could be more layoffs because we are not finished with the company-wide review." About half the layoffs are on the cosmetics sales floor because of an organizational change. Brand specialists whose salaries are partly paid by beauty vendors will now be able to ring up sales, which previously were handled exclusively by Neiman's associates on commission.

"This has been in the works for a couple of years and we have resisted it while the rest of the industry has gone that way," Reeder said. "It's overdue, and we believe it will improve sales productivity." Reeder didn't disclose the savings anticipated by the layoffs, but noted the company was providing severance packages. The last time Neiman's had layoffs was in 1990.

"We've had a terrific run but now we are in our most difficult period since 9/11."

So Burt Tansky, president and chief executive officer of Neiman Marcus Inc., told WWD on Wednesday, just after the luxury chain disclosed disappointing results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 2.

The net loss for the period more than doubled to $35.6 million, from $15.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Comparable-store sales dipped 1.4 percent, while total sales rose to $1.03 billion from $981.7 million. On an operating basis, the retailer also had a loss, of $6.2 million, compared with profits of $32.2 million in the year-ago period.

For the year, net earnings rose to $142.8 million from $111.9 million, operating earnings dropped slightly to $466.4 million from $476.8 million, and comparable sales gained 1.7 percent. This was primarily due to increases at the Internet business; at stores in the New York area, particularly Bergdorf Goodman, and at the Last Call clearance centers. Total revenues increased to $4.6 billion from $4.4 billion.

Precious jewelry, cosmetics, fragrance, men’s and women’s shoes and designer handbags were the strongest categories last quarter.

Here's how the season unfolds: First come the holiday ornament shops. Some gauche folks unveil these bauble-filled boutiques right after Labor Day, but most opt for the middle of October. Next we have the interior decorations, the festooning of which takes place around Halloween at some Manhattan department stores. Others, demonstrating a certain chic restraint, usually wait until at least Nov. 2 or 3 before decking their halls. Which leads us to my personal favorite: yes, it's window time! The first two weeks of November, stores all over town, both trendy and otherwise, unveil their yuletide dioramas. Rare is the shopkeeper who makes his garland-toting elves wait till after Black Friday — that's what our be-suited bosses call the day after Thanksgiving — before they can unfurl their tinsel.

Given the essential consistency of this schedule, why do the holidays come as such a shock? Why do otherwise sentient beings suffer from the delusion that staple-gun-wielding window dressers are advancing upon them with premature malevolence? In the past I chalked this up to good, old-fashioned denial: fending off the headache-inducing obligations and demands of the season is a fairly universal impulse.

*****

More good news: the commercial aspect of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa is, in its own way, entirely meaningful. Retailers depend on people to buy mountains of gifts for their loved ones; the resulting fourth-quarter revenues ensure their very survival and create jobs. Additionally, gift buying is a legitimate feel-good pastime that involves empathy and creativity, connoisseurship and self-expression. A trip to SoHo or NoLIta can be every bit as visually stimulating and thought-provoking as a schlep around the Chelsea art galleries.

So stop trying to hold back the holidays. Relax! Get your kvetching and your spiritual psychotherapy out of the way and then surrender to the fun and distraction of the holidays. And yes, there will be damage to your wallet. But look on the bright side: the window displays are free.

A recent experiment in which a reporter visited various commercial corners of Manhattan with a high-grade thermometer found that almost without fail, the more ritzy the establishment is trying to be, the colder the air-conditioning is kept. In other words, the higher the prices, the lower the temperatures. Consider the clothing stores: Bergdorf Goodman, 68.3 degrees; Bloomingdale's, 70.8; Macy's 73.1; Club Monaco, 74.0; the Original Levi's Store, 76.8; Old Navy 80.3.

For the experiment a pair of professional-grade Mannix HDT303K digital thermometers were used. The temperature was measured as close to the center of each establishment as possible, away from any vents, moving air or doors. When the thermometers' readings differed (never by more than 0.4 degrees), the two were averaged. The reporter did not announce his presence as one but entered each place of business as a normal customer would. While a few degrees' difference might not sound like much, the feeling on bare skin can be surprising. Tiffany & Company (70.3), where a sterling silver baby rattle sells for $200, lacked the meat-locker-like sting of Hermès (68.6), which sells a stainless steel thermos for $1,200.

"There is still a status symbol in almost over-the-top air-conditioning," said Craig Childress, the director of prototype design for Envirosell, a New York-based consulting firm that studies retail stores' designs to help them maximize sales.

High-end retailers argue that cool air is a positive part of their image. "It's part of the whole environment package that we try to offer to our customers," said Tony Nicola, vice president for operations at Bergdorf Goodman. "We're offering the best of service in New York City, and what comes with that is how the store looks, how it's lit, the cleanliness and the temperature."

Last year Bergdorf's installed a new air-conditioning and heating system that features an array of software and sensors designed to keep the air near the target of 68 degrees. "I don't think it's too cold," Mr. Nicola said.

At least one shopper agreed. Sylvia Pastor, who lives on the Upper East Side, said she found the cool temperature invigorating, adding that it kept her shopping longer than a warmer temperature might have. "It's good for the store," she said. "But not for my pocketbook."

Gail Cooper, the author of Air-Conditioning America: Engineers and the Controlled Environment, 1900-1960 (Johns Hopkins, 1998), said the music, lighting, traffic flow and hygiene of modern retail stores would be impossible without air-conditioning. "You don't get outside air, you don't get dirt," Ms. Cooper said. Without air-conditioning, many stores would not be able to use the brightest lights because of the heat they give off, she said.