[2] The company traces its origins to 1899 when Herman Bergdorf, an immigrant from Alsace, opened a tailor's shop just above Union Square in downtown Manhattan.

Early tenants included Van Cleef & Arpels, the Grande Maison de Blanc and Dobbs the Hatter.

Goodman's son, Andrew, assumed the role of president in 1951 and succeeded as head of the company in 1953, following the death of his father.

[11] Broadway-Hale Stores proposed merging with Bergdorf Goodman in 1971,[12] and the Federal Trade Commission approved the merger the next year.

By the time of the sale, Bergdorf Goodman was the only large high-quality specialty store in the U.S. that remained independently owned.

In 1997, the former Goodman family apartment on the building's ninth floor became the John Barrett Salon and Susan Ciminelli Day Spa.

In 1999, the Beauty Level opened directly below the main floor, offering a luxury spa and Goodman's Café, serving lunch and afternoon tea.

In 2003, the store introduced new boutiques for Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent.

The Bergdorf Goodman Men's store features exclusive brands such as Loro Piana, Kiton, Brunello Cucinelli, John Lobb, Thom Browne, Bontoni, Tom Ford, and Charvet.

In 1953's movie How to Marry a Millionaire, Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, and Marilyn Monroe consider "the mink department at Bergdorf's" the ideal location to meet men.

Most recently, Bergdorf Goodman was featured in a scene of the film Ocean's 8 in which Sandra Bullock's character steals cosmetics from the store.

[23] In the television show Parks and Recreation, the character April Ludgate pretends on multiple occasions to be an exaggerated socialite named "Janet Snakehole", whose husband keeps her in "the finest Bergdorf Goodman" clothing.

In 2019, news journalist E. Jean Carroll alleged that Donald Trump had sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.