Rachel Morgan
Page 1 of 5 Nordstrom: A Family Narrative
When thinking about a great American success story stemming from immigrants, one might think of Andrew Carnegie or even Arnold Schwarzenegger. Aside from industrial production or Hollywood, the Nordstrom family has a rich American immigrant story that continues to keep up with the narrative of today’s society. John W. Nordstrom left Sweden in 1887 and arrived in America with only $5 to his name and not a word of English to his knowledge. The 16 year old had a rough start in the mining and labor industries. About a decade later, the worker found his way to Alaska for the gold-rush in 1897; he managed to save up $13,000 after persevering the next two years. He then returned back down to the mainland to Seattle to invest his savings with a co-worker from Alaska, Carl Wallin, to start the shoe company, Wallin & Nordstrom.1 This humble beginning to what would develop into the fashion mega-store of today, has always been centered around exceptional customer service, selection, quality and value. After 22 years, a second store was added and in 1928, John retired, selling his share to his two sons. His partner soon retired a year after him and also sold his shares to John’s two sons. John’s third son joined the business in 1933.2 By 1963, the shoe store was the largest in the country and expanded to add women’s fashion that year. Three years later, children’s and men’s selections were added to the store and a
1
Nordstrom, “Company History,” http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/company-history.
2
Ibid.
Rachel Morgan
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few more stores opened in the Pacific NorthWest. 1968 marked the era of the second hand-down to the third generation of Nordstrom men.3 In 1971, the company went public and officially became Nordstrom, Inc. It took two years of being public to surpass $100 million in sales and became the largest volume of sales on the West Coast. In 1988, Nordstrom opened it’s doors to the first East Coast store, with a location in Virginia. Flash forward to modern Nordstrom and it offer’s a global presence through a very strong online presence, a manageable 271 high-end retail stores throughout 36 states. The company has future plans of opening it’s first Manhattan store by 2018 and to grow from 151 Nordstrom Rack (the discount store) stores to 230 by 2016.4 In the midst of fellow large-scale department stores closing, like Macy’s, Sears, JCP, and smaller upscale stores like Coach, Nordstrom’s narrative is continuing.5 Since 1998, Nordstrom has offered a total customer convenience of 24 hour online shopping on their website, with free shipping and returns.6 In a competitive market, a lot of stores set minimums as to a free shipping mark, if they offer the option at all. Since launching their mobile app in 2011, spokesman Colin Johnson states that they “...have been doing a lot of
3
James R. Warren, “Nordstrom Department Store,” HistoryLink.org: 1999, http:// www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1677. 4
Nordstrom.
5
WTAE Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, “Store Closings in 2014,” http://www.wtae.com/money/ store-closings-in-2014/24858564? utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=wtae-tv%2Bpittsburgh#!biLIbK. 6
Answers.com, “Nordstrom,” http://www.answers.com/topic/nordstrom-inc.
Rachel Morgan
Page 3 of 5
listening and learning from our customers to make this a better shopping tool.”7 Not only can a customer share a product via social media sites, but they can now share via SMS message and have easier access to reviews. Nordstrom is continuously appealing and changing with the consumers, as the consumer market grows. They are creating cutting edge shopping experiences with employees carrying around Apple iTouch devices for on-the-spot check out experiences.8 People with disabilities is becoming normal in their print ads; “Nordstrom spokeswoman Tara Darrow said using the models is ‘really about reflecting the customers and communities we serve. We serve diverse customers and it's an opportunity for them to see themselves when they're looking through the book or online. ... We don't promote it or go out and talk about it. We just think they look great.’”9 HauteLook is a premier online destination with daily flash sales of up to 75% off retail prices. Everyday starts a new sale at 8am and allows users to shop for free and everyone is welcome. For added convenience, HauteLook and Nordstrom Rack can be shopped side-by-side on the same webpage and the customer is able to check out with one shopping cart from two separate websites.10 With 15 millions members on HauteLook, members are able to purchase
7
Tricia Carr, “Nordstrom enhances mobile app strategy with added engagement,” Luxury Daily: 2013, http://www.luxurydaily.com/nordstrom-enhances-mobile-app-strategy-with-addedengagement/. 8
Jayne O’Donnell, “Line cutting: Mobile checkout headed to a store near you,” USA Today: 2012, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-07-24/mobilecheckout-nordstrom-jcpenney-apple/56468084/1. 9
Associated Press, “Nordstrom ads feature models with disabilities,” FoxNews: 2014, http:// www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/07/16/nordstrom-ads-feature-models-with-disabilities/. 10
HauteLook, “FAQ: General Info,” https://www.hautelook.com/support#faq_page.
Rachel Morgan
Page 4 of 5
from the flash sales and can then return or exchange in stores at Nordstrom Rack. This offers the ability to leave with different merchandise or added sales to Nordstrom.11 Currently in the 4th generation of Nordstrom’s, the company is still a narrative that is growing. Nordstrom has a strong family presence from the past and believes in tradition, by showing this, the company refused to open it’s doors on Thanksgiving Day and only opened at 8am on Black Friday.12 They offer in-store Wi-Fi for customers and enhance shopping experiences to make every customer feel like a king or queen. Their sense of all about the customer is what defines this company to be a narrative, over a story. With constant updates from adding women’s wear to adding a full-on household sales (men, children, home and beauty), to becoming one of the first full on-line shopping experience pre-Y2K, and modern ads appealing to all body shapes and sizes, and finally adding discount stores of reputable high-end fashion names, Nordstrom’s narrative speaks to me, the consumer, and focuses on what I want. I get to determine the outcome of my shopping experience, but Nordstrom’s does a great job at appealing to my tastes. Nordstrom’s is giving me the options of how to purchase and helping me along the way with what style to wear, but in the end, it’s up to me to put the sass in my strut or climb to the top. Their support and accessibility is just the beginning.13
11
Walter Loeb, “Why The Rack Will Lead To Greater Growth For Nordstrom,” Forbes: 2013, http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2013/12/13/nordstrom-why-the-rack-will-lead-to-greatergrowth/. 12 13
Loeb.
John Hagel, “The Untapped Potential of Corporate Narratives,” http:// edgeperspectives.typepad.com/edge_perspectives/2013/10/the-untapped-potential-ofcorporate-narratives.html.
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Financially, the company’s 10-K shows a continual uphill growth over the past 5 years of data, with a nearly 60% financial gain in net earnings from 2009 to 2013.14 The stores are currently worth $525/sqft (with an average ranging around $300/sqft).15 This focus on customer satisfaction, convenience in stores and online, and a strong family heritage is surely the key players in their narrative.
14
Nordstrom, “2013 Form 10-K,” http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File? item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MjI1MjQzfENoaWxkSUQ9LTF8VHlwZT0z&t=1. 15
Loeb.
