Nordstrom

Nordstrom is one of the nation's leading retailers, offering a wide variety of high-quality apparel, shoes and accessories for men, women and children.

Over the years, Nordstrom has built a thriving business on the principles of quality, value, selection and amazing customer service. Find distinctive name brand clothing and accessories at Nordstrom.

History of Nordstrom

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.

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 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 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 1994 there were only four stores and the division was discontinued by the end of that year.

The company has opened a ".com" fulfillment center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Currently, it has distribution centers in Ontario, California; 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. At 383,000 square feet, the downtown Seattle store is the chain's largest as of February 2007. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of February 2007) opened in 1975 in Anchorage, Alaska, and has a total area of 97,000 square feet.

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