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Nordstrom: The Family Held US Fashion Department Store
JohnW. Nordstrom, an immigrant from Sweden, and CarlWallin, the owner of a Seattle shoe store, the founders of
Nordstrommet each other at Klondike gold rush. Together, they opened a new shoe store in Seattle under the name of
Wallin & Nordstrom. Despite competition from many shoe businesses in Seattle, the business didwell. In 1923, Wallin and
Nordstromopened their second store inSeattle’sUniversityDistrict.WhenNordstromandWallinwere about to retire,Wallin
sold his share of the business to JohnNordstrom,who in turn sold it to his sons.Addressing the scepticismregarding the next
generation’s ability to run the business, John Nordstromstated, “I only went through the sixth grade in grammar school in
Sweden. My boys are college graduates. They must be a lot smarter than I ever was"...
Expansion Strategies Under the Fourth Generation Nordstroms
The fourth generation Nordstroms initiated expansion strategies by identifying new markets and expanding in the
existingmarkets by improving theirmerchandisemix.
In 1999, Nordstromopened full-line stores in Virginia, Providence, Rhode Island, California and Columbia and three
Nordstrom Rack stores in Sacramento (California), Brea (California) and Gaithersburg, Maryland. The company also
focused on penetrating into the untappedmarkets in theUS. In 1998, it forayed into online business by launching awebsite,
nordstrom.com. Jamie Nordstrom, president of NordstromDirect (whichmanages both the e-commerce and catalogue
businesses), said, “Our online business has experienced rapid growth and we are committed to building a billion-dollar
business within four to six years.”...
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