Fox & Co. in Hartford, Connecticut, as assistant to the general merchandise manager. Soon after, G. Fox's owner, Beatrice Fox Auerbach, asked him to assume the presidency of one of the company's affiliated stores, the far less prestigious Brown Thompson. In 1967, he returned from Brown Thompson and was made vice president and general merchandise manager of G. Fox & Co. After Auerbach's death, Neimark moved to B. Altman and Company, located at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York, where he became executive vice-president and general merchandise manager in 1970. In 1975, he assumed the reins of Bergdorf Goodman from Andrew Goodman; it made him the first non-family-member to lead the company since its founding in 1899. Neimark set out to transform the store from "old, dull, expensive, and intimidating" to "young, exciting, expensive, and intimidating". His primary strategy was to put designers in the lead and, to that end, recruited Dawn Mello to head the store's fashion office. Neimark embarked on strategy to bring top designers from around the world into an exclusive arrangement with Bergdorf Goodman. The first step of the "Italian Strategy", which was representative of the approach, was to lure the house of Fendi to Bergdorf Goodman, which was done through personal contact and the promise of strong promotion and featured placement. Regarding the promise of promotion, Bergdorf Goodman became known for doing extravaganzas, which garnered attention from The New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, and celebrities of the day. Back in 1981, the store organized a show for Fendi furs at the nearby Pulitzer Fountain. The fountain was the runway, and the tiers were lined with black Mylar and filled with gallons of water. Donna Karan and Michael Kors also had their careers launched through fashion shows at Bergdorf Goodman. Beginning with Neimark's reintroduction of French couture to New York, a period of growth for Bergdorf Goodman lasted throughout his tenure and beyond as president and CEO. He took the company from $18 million in sales in 1975 to $250 million in sales by 1992. Professional honors The governments of Italy and France awarded Neimark the Cavaliere Della Republica and the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, respectively, as well as the Medal of the City of Paris. He was a Director Emeritus of Hermés of Paris and formerly a director of The Fashion Institute of Technology Foundation. Personal life While