Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | INVESTOR CONTACT: | Chris Holloway | ||
| September 4, 2008 | Nordstrom, Inc. | |||
| (206) 303-3290 | ||||
| MEDIA CONTACT: | Michael Boyd | |||
| Nordstrom, Inc. | ||||
| (206) 373-3038 |
NORDSTROM REPORTS AUGUST SALES
SEATTLE (September 4, 2008)— Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $558 million for the four-week period ended August 30, 2008, a decrease of 4.2 percent compared to sales of $582 million for the four-week period ended September 1, 2007. Same-store sales decreased 7.9 percent.
Preliminary year-to-date sales of $4.72 billion decreased 4.1 percent compared to sales of $4.93 billion for the same period in 2007. Year-to-date same-store sales decreased 6.4 percent.
Sales Recording
To hear Nordstrom’s pre-recorded August sales message, please dial 800-891-8250 or 402-220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.
AUGUST SALES RESULTS
(unaudited; $in millions)
(unaudited; $in millions)
| Total Sales | Same-store Sales2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fiscal | Fiscal | Increase/ | Full-line | Rack | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 20071 | (Decrease) | Total | Stores | Stores | |||||||||||||||||||
| August | $ | 558 | $ | 582 | (4.2 | %) | (7.9 | %) | (12.5 | %) | 7.6 | % | ||||||||||||
| Year-to-date | $ | 4,724 | $ | 4,926 | (4.1 | %) | (6.4 | %) | (9.4 | %) | 5.7 | % | ||||||||||||
| Number of stores as of August | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-line | 105 | 98 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rack and other | 54 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Façonnable boutiques3 | — | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 159 | 157 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross square footage | 21,139,000 | 20,091,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Total sales results for fiscal 2007 include sales from the company’s international and domestic Façonnable boutiques. | |
| 2 | Same-store sales results exclude sales from Façonnable. | |
| 3 | On August 31, 2007, Nordstrom completed the sale of its international and wholesale Façonnable business. Nordstrom completed the sale of its four U.S. Façonnable boutiques on October 31, 2007. |
Expansion Update
Nordstrom plans to open two full-line stores in the upcoming fiscal month at The Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on September 5, 2008, and at Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis, Ind., on September 19, 2008. On October 3, 2008, Nordstrom plans to relocate and open a new full-line store at the Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Wash.
The company also plans to open four new Rack stores in the upcoming fiscal month at City Center Shopping Center in White Plains, N.Y., the Laguna Hills Mall in Laguna Hills, Calif., the Springbrook Prairie Pavilion in Naperville, Ill., and Legacy Village Shopping Center in Lyndhurst, Ohio.
Future Reporting Dates
Nordstrom’s financial release calendar for the next three months is currently planned as follows:
| September Sales Release | Wed., October 8, 2008 | |
| October Sales Release | Thurs., November 6, 2008 | |
| Third Quarter Earnings Release | Thurs., November 13, 2008 | |
| November Sales Release | Thurs., December 4, 2008 |
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading fashion specialty retailers, with 159 stores located in 28 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 105 full-line stores, 50 Nordstrom Racks, two Jeffrey boutiques, and two clearance stores. In addition, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at www.nordstrom.com and through its catalogs. Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.
Certain statements in this news release contain or may suggest “forward-looking” information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), including the company’s expected monthly results and anticipated store openings. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or current expectations depending upon factors including, but not limited to the impact of economic and market conditions and the resultant impact on consumer spending patterns, the company’s ability to respond to the business environment and fashion trends, the competitive pricing environment within the retail sector, effective inventory management, the effectiveness of planned advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns, the company’s compliance with applicable banking and related laws and regulations impacting the company’s ability to extend credit to its customers, the company’s ability to safeguard its brand and reputation, efficient and proper allocation of the company’s capital resources, trends in personal bankruptcies and bad debt write-offs, changes in interest rates, the company’s ability to control costs, risks related to fluctuations in world currencies, weather conditions and hazards of nature that affect consumer traffic and consumers’ purchasing patterns, and the timing and amounts of share repurchases by the company. For additional information regarding these and other risk factors, please refer to the company’s SEC reports, including itsForm 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.
###