Nordstrom
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| Nordstrom, Inc. | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: JWN) |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Website | www.nordstrom.com |
Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is a department store chain in the United States. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings. It competes at a slightly lower price level than that of, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue,Bloomingdale's and Barneys New York, and at a slightly higher price level than Lord and Taylor. The corporate headquarters and the flagship store are located in Downtown Seattle, Washington.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
Nordstrom was founded as a single shoe store in 1901 as Wallin & Nordstrom by John W. Nordstrom, a Swedish immigrant, and Carl Wallin, the owner of a Seattle shoe repair shop. Twenty-two years later, a second shoe store was opened.
In 1928, John W. Nordstrom retired and sold his shares to two of his sons, Everett and Elmer (according to the book The Nordstrom Way). In 1929, Wallin retired and sold his remaining shares to the two Nordstrom sons. Lloyd Nordstrom joined the company in 1933.
Thirty-one years later, Nordstrom expanded to eight stores in two states but still only sold shoes. Apparel came with its purchase of Best Apparel of Seattle in 1963. The company's name was changed to Nordstrom Best in 1969.
Two years later the company was taken public. (It currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol JWN.) In 1973, "Best" was dropped from the company's name.
In 1976, Nordstrom opened a series of stores called Place Two to sell a more limited selection of apparel in smaller markets. In 1983, there were ten Place Two stores, but by the end of 1994 there were only four stores, and the division was discontinued.[1]
[edit] Early expansion
The company has opened a dot com fulfillment center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Currently, it has distribution centers in Ontario, California; Portland, Oregon; Dubuque, Iowa; Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and Gainesville, Florida.
In 1998, Nordstrom replaced its downtown Seattle store with a new flagship location in the former Frederick & Nelson building across the street. At 383,000 square feet, the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store as of February 2007. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of August 2007) opened in 1977 in Vancouver, Washington and has a total area of just under 72,000 square feet.
The "Espresso Bar" from older stores has been discontinued and re-introduced as the "eBar" with a new look and offers a variety of quick-fix snacks, sandwiches, salads, fruit smoothies, and an expanded 'hotbar' drink list. Smaller stores (mostly consisting of two-stories) have a new concept called "in-House Cafe," which offers the same menu as the eBar but with a sit & dine area. Nordstrom has also developed four restaurant concepts, which can be found in select larger stores. Both the "Classic Cafe" and "Marketplace Cafe" are more casual and offer items such as sandwiches, soups, and salads. "Cafe Bistro" specializes in brick oven entrees and the "Nordstrom Grill" offers both food and alcoholic beverages.
[edit] Today
Today, Nordstrom has chosen to grow both methodically and organically over the years, eschewing the growth-for-growth's sake acquisitions of other companies, expanding to Alaska in 1975, Southern California only in 1978, Northern California in 1982, the East Coast in 1988, the Midwest in 1991, Texas in 1996 and the Southeast in 1998. The company has generally preferred to build stores from the ground up when possible. Nordstrom has grown from one downtown Seattle shoe store into a nationwide fashion specialty chain with renowned services, generous size ranges and a selection of the finest apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family. Currently, Nordstrom operates 105 full-line stores, 51 Nordstrom Rack stores, two Jeffrey Boutiques, one shoe store, and two final clearance stores in 28 different states. On September 7, 2007 Nordstrom opened up their first store in Massachusetts at the newly renovated and upscale Natick Collection, making it one of the most profitable openings in Nordstrom history. Just at the opening gala, Nordstrom helped raise over $2,500,000 for the Boston Museum of Science and Boston Ballet. Nordstrom plans to open approximately 50 stores within the next 10 years and has already publicly announced 26 store openings through 2011. Among them will be stores in Birmingham, Phoenix, Naples, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Honolulu, and Nashville.
[edit] Future Store Openings
[edit] Customer service
Nordstrom is well-known for its customer service, so much so that several urban legends have appeared regarding the store. One of the best known legends is purported to have taken place at the Anchorage store soon after its 1975 purchase from Northern Commercial Company. A customer, unaware that the store had changed hands, returned a set of tires. Although Nordstrom had never sold tires since opening, it was determined not to be the fault of the customer the store had changed hands, and the return was accepted. The urban legend watch website Snopes has not been able to confirm or deny the authenticity of the story. While the authenticity of that story is not confirmed, many Nordstrom customers will attest that Nordstrom will refund the purchase price of an item bought at another department store provided they carry the brand.[3]
Here is the statement regarding Nordstrom's policy about finding a lower purchase price elsewhere, copied from the Nordstrom website:
• We assure you'll never pay more. If you find the same item elsewhere for a lower price, we will gladly match it. Our Customer Service Specialists are ready to assist you, simply call 1-888-282-6060, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In other words, if a customer finds the identical item elsewhere for a lower price, Nordstrom will refund the difference to its customer or will sell the item to the customer at the lower price.
[edit] Employee handbook
For many years, new employees were given a copy of the famous Nordstrom's Employee Handbook -- a single 5 x 8 inch gray card containing 75 words:[4]
However, new hire orientations now provide this card along with a full handbook of other more specific rules and legal regulations, as the way Nordstrom operates has evolved.
[edit] Notable achievements
- Nordstrom was listed at No. 24 in Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007.[5] (Nordstrom is a Hall of Fame member of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list.[6])
- Nordstrom was at No. 46 on the same list in 2006 and at No. 88 in 2005.[7]
- Nordstrom was ranked No. 286 (previously 293) on the Fortune 500 for 2007.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Dow Jones News Services. "Nordstrom-Place Two -2-: To Close 3 Stores, Convert 1." 26 April 1994.
- ^ New Store Openings - Nordstrom
- ^ Nordstrom Tire Return
- ^ Lessons of the Nordstrom Way, eCustomerServiceWorld.com
- ^ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007, CNNMoney.com, Last accessed February 15, 2007.
- ^ Nordstrom Careers, Nordstrom. Last accessed March 2, 2007.
- ^ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2006, CNNMoney.com, Last accessed February 15, 2007.
- ^ Fortune 500 2007, CNNMoney.com, Last accessed July 24, 2007.
[edit] External links
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