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Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
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September 4, 2003
NORDSTROM REPORTS AUGUST SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE OF 3.2%
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SEATTLE - September 4, 2003 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported
preliminary sales of $402.6 million for the four-week period ending August 30,
2003, an increase of 11.3 percent compared to sales of $361.7 million for the
four-week period ending August 31, 2002. Same-store sales increased 3.2
percent.
August same-store sales in full-line stores increased in the Northwest,
Southwest and Central States geographic regions. By merchandise division,
same-store sales increased in Shoes, Cosmetics, Accessories, Men's Wear,
Women's Active Wear, Junior Women's, Intimate Apparel, and Women's Designer
Apparel.
Preliminary year-to-date sales of $3.5 billion increased 6.6 percent
compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $3.3 billion. Year-to-date same-store
sales increased 1.8 percent.
SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded August sales message, please dial (402)
530-7891. This recording is available for one week.
GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a
4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. This change in the fiscal
calendar has resulted in differences in the number of days included in the
current period versus the same period in the prior year. Sales performance
numbers included in this sales release have been calculated on a comparative
4-5-4 basis. The Company believes that adjusting for these differences
provides a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs. 4-5-4) from which to evaluate
sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges 2002 GAAP sales to
the 4-5-4 comparable sales.
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Dollar Increase/ % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) August 2003 August 2002 Decrease Total Sales Comp Sales
----------- ----------- ---------------- ----------- ----------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 28 31
GAAP Sales $402.6 $434.7 ($32.1) (7.4%) (14.4%)
Less August 1-3, 2002 sales - ($73.0)
Reported 4-5-4 sales $402.6 $361.7 $40.9 11.3% 3.2%
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4-5-4 Adjusted Days 28 28
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Dollar % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) YTD 2003 YTD 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales
----------- ----------- ---------------- ----------- ----------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 211 212
GAAP Sales $3,541.3 $3,336.0 $205.3 6.2% 0.8%
Less Feb. 1, 2003 ($18.2) -
Less Feb. 1-2, 2002 sales - ($30.4)
Reported 4-5-4 sales $3,523.1 $3,305.6 $217.5 6.6% 1.8%
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4-5-4 Adjusted Days 210 210
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FUTURE REPORTING DATES
Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided
in the table below.
September Sales Release Thurs., October 9, 2003
October Sales Release Thurs., November 6, 2003
Third Quarter Earnings Thurs., November 20, 2003
November Sales Release Thurs., December 4, 2003
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty
retailers, with 146 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe
store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 90 full-line stores, 49 Nordstrom
Racks, five Faconnable boutiques, one free-standing shoe store, and one
clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 31 international Faconnable
boutiques, primarily in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers
through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com and through its direct
mail catalogs.
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SALES SUMMARY
(unaudited; $ in millions) Aug. Aug. YTD YTD
2003 2002 2003 2002
---- ---- ---- ----
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Total sales $402.6 $361.7 $3,523.1 $3,305.6
Total sales percentage change 11.3% 3.9% 6.6% 4.8%
Same-store sales percentage change 3.2% 0.2% 1.8% 0.3%
Number of stores (as of August 30, 2003)
Full-line 90 83
Rack and other 56 54
International Faconnable boutiques 31 23
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Total 177 160
Gross square footage
(as of Aug. 30, 2003) 18,847,000 17,488,000
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Investor Contact:
Stephanie Allen, 206-303-3262
Media Contact:
Shasha Richardson, 206-373-3038
Certain statements in this news release might contain "forward-looking"
information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995) that involves risks and uncertainties, including anticipated results,
store openings and distribution channels, planned capital expenditures, and
trends in company operations. Actual future results and trends may differ
materially from historical results or current expectations depending upon
factors including, but not limited to, the company's ability to predict
fashion trends, consumer apparel buying patterns, the company's ability to
control costs, weather conditions, hazards of nature such as earthquakes and
floods, trends in personal bankruptcies and bad debt write-offs, changes in
interest rates, employee relations, the company's ability to continue its
expansion plans, and the impact of economic and competitive market forces,
including the impact of terrorist activity or the impact of a war on the
company, its customers and the retail industry. Our SEC reports may contain
other information on these and other factors that could affect our financial
results and cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking
information we may provide.
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