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| Type | Public (NYSE: JWN) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Website | www.nordstrom.com |
Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is an upscale 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 lower price level than that of Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, 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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History
Beginnings
In 1887 at the age of 16, like many other Swedish immigrants in the late nineteenth century, John W. Nordstrom emigrated to the United States in search of opportunity. He was born in the village of Åle, close to Luleå in Northern Sweden. His name at birth was "Johan Nordström" which he later anglicized to John Nordstrom. After landing in New York, he first worked in Michigan. After working a series of menial jobs as he moved across the country, he saved enough money to purchase a 20-acre (81,000 m2) potato farm in Arlington, Washington, close to Seattle. In 1897, he joined the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon Territory, leaving Seattle with countless others. After two years of prospecting and doing whatever it took to continue, he finally struck gold, but sold his disputed claim for $13,000.[1] Returning to Seattle with his new found wealth, he married Hilda Carlson and looked for a business venture, finally settling on a shoe store that opened in 1901, called Wallin & Nordstrom. Carl F. Wallin, the co-founder of the store, was the owner of the adjacent shoe repair shop. John and Hilda had five children, three of whom followed him into the family business, Everett W.(1903), Elmer J.(1904) and Lloyd N. Nordstrom. By the time Wallin & Nordstrom opened their second store in Seattle in 1923, Elmer who recently graduated from the University of Washington had already had enough hands-on experience to be put in charge of its opening.
In 1928, John W. Nordstrom retired and sold his shares to two of his sons, Everett and Elmer. In 1929, Wallin also retired and sold his shares to them. The 1930 grand opening of the remodeled Second Avenue store marked the change of name to Nordstrom's. Lloyd Nordstrom subsequently joined the company in 1933, and the three brothers ran the business together for almost forty years.
By 1958, Nordstrom had expanded to eight stores in two states but still only sold shoes. Their expansion was based on customer service, deep product offerings and full size ranges. Apparel came with its purchase of Best Apparel of Seattle in 1963. The company's name was changed to Nordstrom Best in 1969.
By 1968, the second generation debated selling the company as Everett neared retirement. Instead, they were convinced by the third generation Nordstroms -- Bruce A. (Everett's son), James F. and John N. (Elmer's two sons), together with John A. (Jack) MacMillan (married to Lloyd's daughter) -- to take the company public instead, and allow the cousins to take over the business. In 1971, the company was taken public on NASDAQ under the ticker NOBE (Nordstrom Best). In 1973, "Best" was dropped from the company's name, and the store assumed its current name of Nordstrom.[2] It was moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker symbol JWN after John W. Nordstrom, its founder.
Beginning in 1995, the fourth generation of brothers and cousins served as co-presidents for a time. After John Whitacre served as the first non-Nordstrom CEO in 1997,[3], in 2001 the family reasserted its control, with the sons of Bruce A. (Blake, Erik and Peter) assuming senior roles in the company which they continue to hold.[4]
Early expansion
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Nordstrom has chosen to grow both methodically and organically over the years. The company has generally preferred to build stores from the ground up when possible, eschewing the growth-for-growth's sake acquisitions of other companies.
By 1975, Nordstrom expanded into Alaska (the only time by acquisition from Northern Commercial Company) and opened its first Nordstrom Rack clearance store in Seattle. With its sales already approaching $250 million (making it the third-largest specialty retailer in the U.S.) it opened it first Southern California store at Costa Mesa in 1978, subsequently opening 26 stores plus Racks in California by the early nineties. Later it expanded to the Northeast (Tyson's Corner, 1988), Midwest (Oak Brook Mall, 1991), Southeast (Atlanta, 1998, Southwest (Dallas, 1996), and the North(Providence Place, 1999). In each case, the initial store in a region was used as a base for training and recruitment for subsequent expansion, usually backed by a regional distribution center. From 1978 to 1995, Nordstrom opened a total of 46 full-line department stores.1
There have been occasional missteps. In 1976, Nordstrom opened a series of stores called Place Two to sell a more limited selection of apparel in smaller markets. By 1983, there were ten Place Two stores, but by the end of 1994 there were only four stores, and the division was discontinued.2 An outlet called Nordstrom Factory Direct was tested in the Franklin Mills Mall in 1993,3 but it was quickly closed in favor of supporting the growth of the Rack stores.4
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 (35,600 m2), the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store as of February 2007. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of September 2008) opened in 1980 in Salem, Oregon and has a total area of just under 72,000 square feet (6,700 m2).
The company also expanded into direct sales in 1993, beginning with a catalog division5 led by John N.'s son Dan that was followed by a e-commerce business. 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.
Today
Nordstrom has grown from one downtown Seattle shoe store into a nationwide fashion specialty retailer with renowned customer service, generous size ranges and a wide selection of the finest apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family. Known for its wide aisles, use of back wall displays, tasteful fixturing, seating for shoppers and its trademark live piano players, Nordstrom epitomizes specialty retail department store shopping.
As the stores expanded in size, restaurants were added beginning in 1979, reaching their peak with the then-largest (and most expensive) Westfield San Francisco Center California flagship store that opened in 1989, that included no fewer than four restaurants as well as an English pub.6 Recently, the "Espresso Bar" from older stores has been discontinued and re-introduced as the "eBar" with offering a variety of quick-fix snacks, and an expanded "hotbar" drink list. Smaller stores (mostly consisting of two-stories) now have an "in-House Cafe," which offers the same menu but with seating. Nordstrom has also revised its four restaurants (found in select larger stores), the casual "Classic Cafe" and "Marketplace Cafe," the "Cafe Bistro" specializing in brick oven entrees and the "Nordstrom Grill" offering food and alcoholic beverages.
Currently, Nordstrom operates 109 full-line department stores, 56 Nordstrom Rack clearance stores, two Jeffrey Boutiques, and two final clearance stores (Last Chance) all located in 28 different states. They have recently sold (2007) their stand-alone boutique chain Façonnable. Nordstrom also operates a retail bank based in Scottsdale, AZ.
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, in keeping with its tradition of supporting local charitable organizations in its new markets, 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, and Nashville.
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. Many Nordstrom customers will attest that Nordstrom will refund items at any time purchased from Nordstrom stores.
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.
Employee handbook
For many years, new employees were given a copy of the famous Nordstrom's Employee Handbook – a single 5 x 8-inch (200 mm) gray card containing 75 words:7
Welcome to Nordstrom
We're glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.
Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.
Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.
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.
Notable achievements
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008) |
- Nordstrom was listed at No. 24 in Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007.8 (Nordstrom is a Hall of Fame member of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list.9)
- Nordstrom was at No. 46 on the same list in 2006 and at No. 88 in 2005.10
- Nordstrom was ranked No. 286 (previously 293) on the Fortune 500 for 2007.11
References
- ^ The Nordstrom Way (1996), 133
- ^ Dow Jones News Services. "Nordstrom-Place Two -2-: To Close 3 Stores, Convert 1." 26 April 1994.
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DC103AF937A15751C0A965958260
- ^ Nordstrom Way, 209-210
- ^ The Nordstrom Way, 213
- ^ Nordstrom Way, 145, 133
- ^ 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.
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 November 2008, at 23:10.
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