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Neiman manager wheelin' and dealin'

By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published July 10, 2006

Since arriving as Neiman Marcus store manager in Tampa last month, Lydia Mattison has chatted up customers to find obscure designer lines they want, lunched with charity fundraiser organizers and scouted the local roller rinks.

"When I can't get to the gym, I roller skate to let off steam," said this 45-year-old retailing veteran, who was transferred from managing the luxe retailer's store in downtown Minneapolis. "I don't dance on skates, but I can do most of the rest of the moves. These are those retro quad skates, not inline."

Mattison sort of stumbled into a career in fashion retailing. She dropped out of the computer science program her junior year at Wayne State University in Michigan because a sales job at a Detroit designer apparel boutique was more engaging. Taught to sew at 6, she made most of her clothes as a teen. That helped her land a job as a buyer who traveled 26 weeks a year to apparel, shoe and accessories markets for 11 years. She rose though the store management ranks at Jacobson's, Mervyn's and Saks Fifth Avenue before she was recruited by Neiman. In 2005, she went back to school to secure her bachelor's degree.

In Minneapolis, she served on the boards of the Downtown Council, Alzheimer's Association and the convention and visitors association.

"I learned to roller skate as a kid to keep up with my older sisters," she said. "None of them skate now, but fortunately my husband doesn't mind coming along."

[Last modified July 10, 2006, 06:44:08]