Neiman Marcus 2009 Annual Report Download - page 47

Table of Contents
• our ability to provide credit to our customers pursuant to our proprietary credit card program arrangement with HSBC,
including any future changes in the terms of the such arrangement and/or legislation impacting the extension of credit to
our customers;
• the design and implementation of new information systems as well as enhancements of existing systems; and
• other risks, uncertainties and factors set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including those set forth in Item 1A,
"Risk Factors."
The foregoing factors are not exhaustive, and new factors may emerge or changes to the foregoing factors may occur that
could impact our business. Except to the extent required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise (publicly or
otherwise) any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing
elsewhere in this Annual Report. As disclosed in Note 1 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, the preparation of
financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions about
future events. These estimates and assumptions affect the amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of
gain and loss contingencies at the date of our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
While we believe that our past estimates and assumptions have been materially accurate, the amounts currently estimated are
subject to change if different assumptions as to the outcome of future events were made. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on
an ongoing basis and predicate those estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to
be reasonable under the circumstances. We make adjustments to our assumptions and judgments when facts and circumstances
dictate. Since future events and their effects cannot be determined with absolute certainty, actual results may differ from the estimates
used in preparing the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements.
We believe the following critical accounting policies encompass the more significant judgments and estimates used in the
preparation of our audited consolidated financial statements.
Revenues. Revenues include sales of merchandise and services and delivery and processing revenues related to merchandise
sold. Revenues from our Specialty Retail stores are recognized at the later of the point of sale or the delivery of goods to the
customer. Revenues from our Direct Marketing operation are recognized when the merchandise is delivered to the customer.
Revenues associated with gift cards are recognized at the time of redemption by the customer. Revenues exclude sales taxes collected
from our customers.
Revenues are reduced when customers return goods previously purchased. We maintain reserves for anticipated sales returns
primarily based on our historical trends related to returns by our retail and direct marketing customers. Our reserves for anticipated
sales returns aggregated $25.2 million at July 31, 2010 and $22.9 million at August 1, 2009. As the vast majority of merchandise
returns are made in less than 30 days after the sales transaction, we believe the risk that differences between our estimated and actual
returns will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements is minimal.
Merchandise Inventories and Cost of Goods Sold. We utilize the retail method of accounting. Under the retail inventory
method, the valuation of inventories at cost and the resulting gross margins are determined by applying a calculated cost-to-retail ratio,
for various groupings of similar items, to the retail value of our inventories. The cost of the inventory reflected on the consolidated
balance sheets is decreased by charges to cost of goods sold at the time the retail value of the inventory is lowered through the use of
markdowns. Earnings are negatively impacted when merchandise is marked down. As we adjust the retail value of our inventories
through the use of markdowns to reflect market conditions, our merchandise inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market.
The areas requiring significant management judgment related to the valuation of our inventories include 1) setting the
original retail value for the merchandise held for sale, 2) recognizing merchandise for which the customer's perception of value has
declined and appropriately marking the retail value of the merchandise down to the perceived value and 3) estimating the shrinkage
that has occurred between physical inventory counts. These judgments and estimates, coupled with the averaging
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