The Luxury Institute, a New York-based market-research firm, said Bergdorf Goodman was rated the most prestigious traditional luxury retail brand in its recent online survey of 1,500 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $319,000, and average net worth of $3.0 million.

Sister brand Neiman Marcus was rated second, and Nordstrom rated a close third.

The traditional luxury brands rated were (alphabetically): Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue. The online-only e-tailer luxury brands rated were (alphabetically): Bluefly.com eLUXURY.com, and Vivre.com.