Sales per sf were also up at the chain, rising to $605 per sffrom $567 per sf during the same year-ago period. Some of thestrongest-performing sales categories for the company includedsportswear, jewelry and women's apparel, executives said duringtheir conference call.

On the real estate end, Neiman Marcus is opening six of itsnamesake department stores during the next four years. "We arefocused on maximizing the growth potential at our full-linestores," says Burton Tansky, the retailer's president and chiefexecutive officer.

This year the company is opening an 80,000-sf Charlotte, NC unitin the fall. An 80,000-sf store is set to open in Austin, TX, nextspring and the company plans a 100,000-sf unit in Natick, MA thefollowing fall. Two stores, a 150,000-sf unit in Oyster Bay, NY;and a 120,000-sf store in West Los Angeles, are planned for thefall of 2008.