Nordstrom, Inc. () is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings. The corporate headquarters and the flagship store are located in Downtown Seattle, Washington.

History

Beginnings

In 1887, at the age of 16, like many other Swedes in the late 19th century, John W. Nordstrom emigrated to the United States in search of opportunity. He was born in the village of Ale, 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 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. 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. 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. 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,, 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.

Expansion

By 1975, Nordstrom expanded into Alaska (the only time by acquisition) by purchasing Northern Commercial Company and opened its first Nordstrom Rack clearance store in Seattle. A strong northwest regional retailer with sales already approaching $250 million (making it the third-largest specialty retailer in the U.S.), it opened its first Southern California store at Costa Mesa in 1978. By the early 1990s, it had opened 26 stores plus Racks in California. Subsequent expansion relied on creating a strongly decentralized regional structure, beginning with the Northeast (Tyson's Corner, 1988), Midwest (Oak Brook Mall, 1991), Southeast (Atlanta, 1998), and Southwest (Dallas, 1996) to which the California stores were added. In a new region, the initial store was used as a base for training and recruitment for subsequent expansion, and was usually backed by its own distribution center. From 1978 to 1995, Nordstrom opened a total of 46 full-line department stores.

PLACE TWO: 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 the cost of upgrading the smaller stores, especially from a systems perspective, outweighed the benefit, and the division was discontinued.

FLAGSHIP: In 1998, Nordstrom replaced its downtown Seattle store with a new flagship location in the former Frederick & Nelson building across the street. At , the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of September 2008) opened in 1980 in Salem, Oregon and has a total area of just under .

DIRECT: The company also expanded into direct sales in 1993, beginning with a catalog division led by John N.'s son Dan that was followed by an e-commerce business. Nordstrom.com's fulfillment and contact center is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Currently, it has distribution centers in Ontario, California; Portland, Oregon; Dubuque, Iowa; Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and Gainesville, Florida.

Today

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 Centre California flagship store that opened in 1989, that included no fewer than four restaurants as well as an English pub. 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.

Nordstrom recently sold (2007) their stand-alone boutique chain Façonnable. Nordstrom also operates a retail bank based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In February 2011, Nordstrom announced the acquisition of HauteLook, an LA-based online retailer that offers flash sales on designer goods. The deal includes Nordstrom paying $180 million in stock and a three-year "earn-out" payment based on HauteLook's financial performance.

On May 26, 2011, Nordstrom announced that they will be closing the downtown Indianapolis, Indiana Circle Center Mall location due to declining business at Downtown site. The remaining location on the north side of the city at the Fashion Mall at Keystone as well as the future Nordstrom Rack store in the Rivers Edge Shopping Center, also on the north side, will remain as the only two locations in the state. Erik Nordstrom, president of stores at Nordstrom stated "We've enjoyed serving our customers in downtown Indianapolis, but unfortunately our business has declined over the long term for some time and despite our efforts to turn things around we don't see the outlook significantly changing."

Employee handbook

Recognition

Nordstrom was ranked No. 286 (previously 293) on the Fortune 500 for 2007.

See also

References

External links

Category:Department stores of the United States

Category:Companies based in Seattle, Washington Category:Companies based in Washington (state) Category:Clothing retailers of the United States Category:Companies established in 1901 Category:Luxury department stores of the United States

Biography

Nordström met his wife, the Swedish painter Karin Mamma Andersson, while working at a summer camp. They live in the Stockholm suburb Tallkrogen and have two sons.

Works

Catalogues

Animated Films

Notes

External links

Category:Swedish illustrators Category:Swedish painters Category:Living people Category:1963 births Category:Konstfack alumni

Kjell A. Nordström was born in Skärholmen, a suburban district in southern Stockholm, but grew up on a small island in the Finnish Åland archipelago. His parents returned to Sweden in the 1960s. He was first educated as an engineer and thereafter commenced studies at the Stockholm School of Economics where he earned a Ph.D. in 1991. Until 2004 he was an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Business (IIB) at the Stockholm School of Economics. His research and consulting focus is in the areas of strategic management, multinational corporations and globalization. He has served as an advisor/consultant to several large multinationals and to the government of the United Kingdom.

In 2000 the book ''Funky Business - Talent Makes Capital Dance'', which was written by Kjell A. Nordström and his colleague Jonas Ridderstråle, was published. The book, which is described as a "manifesto of what our time requires from business firms and their leaders", became an international best-seller and has to date been translated into 33 languages. In 2000, both Amazon.co.uk and the webzine ''Management General'' rated it as one of the five best business books of the year. Another survey ranked it as the 16th best business book of all time.

In 2003, the follow-up '' Karaoke Capitalism - Management for Mankind'', also written together with Jonas Ridderstråle, was published. The book, which also became an international success, has to date been contracted for publication in 23 languages. In March 2004, Nordström and Ridderstråle appeared on CNN's program ''Global Office'' for an extensive interview on the ideas behind ''Karaoke Capitalism''.

Today, Nordström and Ridderstråle works as professional public speakers in the field of strategic management. The 2005 Thinkers 50, the bi-annual global ranking of management thinkers, ranked Nordström and Ridderstråle at number nine internationally and number one in Europe.

Kjell A. Nordström was previously married to singer Katarina Henryson, with whom he has one child. He currently lives with another woman.

External links

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:People from Stockholm Category:Swedish economists Category:Swedish writers Category:Stockholm School of Economics faculty Category:Business theorists Category:Business speakers