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Nordstrom, Inc. () is an upscale department store in the United States. They sell clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. The company competes at an average price level above Macy's, Dillard's, Sears, and J.C. Penney, on par with Bloomingdale's, but below that of Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. The corporate headquarters and the flagship store are located in Downtown Seattle, Washington.

History

Nordstrom was founded in 1901 as Wallin & Nordstrom by John W. Nordstrom, a Swedish immigrant who moved to the United States in 1887, and Carl Wallin, the owner of a Seattle shoe store, whom Nordstrom had met during the Klondike gold rush. Twenty-two years later, a second shoe store was opened.

By 1929, both Nordstrom and Wallin had retired and control of the company passed to Nordstrom's sons, Everett and Elmer.

Thirty-one years later, Nordstrom had 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 1966.

Five 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.

The company opened a ".com" fullfillment center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Currently, it has distribution centers in Ontario; Portland, Oregon; Dubuque, Iowa; Annapolis, 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.

Nordstrom has opened an "ebar" coffeehouse in select stores.

Expansion

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 (at South Coast Plaza), Northern California in 1982 (at Hillsdale Shopping Center), the East Coast in 1988 (at Tysons Corner Center), the Midwest in 1991 (at Oakbrook Center), Texas in 1996 (at Dallas Galleria) and the Southeast in 1998 (at Perimeter Mall). The company has generally preferred to build stores from the ground-up where possible (Bullock's North locations at Broadway Plaza, Stonestown, Stanford and Oakridge, Alexander's at Menlo Park, Lord & Taylor at Cherry Creek, Phipps Plaza and Dadeland, and Hahne's at Garden State Plaza being the few exceptions). Proposed plans to expand in to more tertiary markets (Nashville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville) were cancelled after the economy slowed in 2000-2001. Unsubstantiated rumors of planned Nordstrom openings are frequently mentioned due to its desirability by city-officials, wishful consumers and real estate developers (Battery Park City-Manhattan, Eastview Mall-Rochester, NY, St. James Town Center-Jacksonville, FL, etc.).

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 was that Nordstrom graciously refunded the purchase price of a set of snow tires brought in by a customer, notwithstanding that Nordstrom did not sell--and has never sold--automotive products. 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.*

Employee handbook

New employees are given a copy of the famous Nordstrom's Employee Handbook -- a single 5 x 8 inch gray card containing 75 words:

*

Current locations and confirmed future locations

Alaska

  • Anchorage - Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall - 97,000 sq ft. (opened 1975)

Arizona

California

Northern

Southern

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

  • Indianapolis - Circle Centre - 315,000 sq ft. (opened 1995)

Kansas

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

Former locations

Alaska

  • Fairbanks - Downtown Fairbanks (freestanding) - 52,000 sq ft. (opened 1975, closed 1989)

California

  • San Jose - Oakridge Mall (now Westfield Oakridge) - 152,000 sq ft. (opened 1985, closed 1994, replaced by Sears)

Montana

Utah

  • Ogden - Ogden City Mall (mall demolished) - 76,000 sq ft. (opened 1982, closed 1999)

Washington

  • Seattle - Aurora Village Mall (mall demolished) - 71,000 sq ft. (opened 1974, closed 1992)
  • Yakima - Downtown Yakima (freestanding) - 44,000 sq ft. (opened 1960, closed 2001)

External links

Department stores of the United States | Companies based in Seattle, Washington | Fortune 1000 | 1901 establishments

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Nordstrom".

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