<page> Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
October 9, 2003
NORDSTROM REPORTS SEPTEMBER SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE OF 7.7%
SEATTLE - October 9, 2003 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported
preliminary sales of $563.7 million for the five-week period ending October 4,
2003, an increase of 11.4 percent compared to sales of $505.9 million for the
five-week period ending October 5, 2002. Same-store sales increased 7.7
percent.
September same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic
regions and all major merchandise divisions.
Preliminary quarter-to-date sales of $966.2 million increased 11.4 percent
compared to quarter-to-date 2002 sales of $867.6 million. Quarter-to-date
same-store sales increased 5.8 percent.
Preliminary year-to-date sales of $4.1 billion increased 7.2 percent
compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $3.8 billion. Year-to-date same-store
sales increased 2.6 percent.
SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded September sales message, please dial (402)
220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.
GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a
4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. This change in the fiscal
calendar has resulted in differences in the number of days included in the
current period versus the same period in the prior year. Sales performance
numbers included in this sales release have been calculated on a comparative
4-5-4 basis. The Company believes that adjusting for these differences
provides a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs. 4-5-4) from which to evaluate
sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges 2002 GAAP sales to
the 4-5-4 comparable sales.
<table>
<caption>
Dollar Increase/ % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) September 2003 September 2003 Decrease Total Sales Comp Sales
------------ ------------ ---------------- ----------- ---------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 35 30
GAAP Sales $563.7 $426.4 $137.3 32.2% 27.2%
Plus October 1-5, 2002 sales - $79.5
Reported 4-5-4 sales $563.7 $505.9 $57.8 11.4% 7.7%
========= =========
4-5-4 Adjusted Days 35 35
</table>
<table>
<caption>
Dollar Increase/ % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) QTD 2003 QTD 2003 Decrease Total Sales Comp Sales
------------ ------------ ---------------- ----------- ---------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 63 61
GAAP Sales $966.2 $861.1 $105.1 12.2% 6.0%
Less Aug. 1-3, 2002 sales - ($73.0)
Plus Oct. 1-5, 2002 sales - $79.5
Reported 4-5-4 sales $966.2 $867.6 $98.6 11.4% 5.8%
========= =========
4-5-4 Adjusted Days 63 63
</table>
<page>
<table>
<caption>
Dollar % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) YTD 2003 YTD 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales
----------- ----------- ---------------- ----------- ----------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 246 242
GAAP Sales $4,104.9 $3,762.4 $342.5 9.1% 3.7%
Less Feb. 1, 2003 ($18.2) -
Less Feb. 1-2, 2002 sales - ($30.4)
Plus Oct. 1-5, 2002 sales - $79.5
Reported 4-5-4 sales $4,086.7 $3,811.5 $275.2 7.2% 2.6%
========= =========
4-5-4 Adjusted Days 245 245
</table>
FUTURE REPORTING DATES
Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided
in the table below.
October Sales Release Thurs., November 6, 2003
Third Quarter Earnings Thurs., November 20, 2003
November Sales Release Thurs., December 4, 2003
December Sales Release Thurs., January 8, 2004
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers,
with 147 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in
Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 91 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.
<table>
<caption>
SALES SUMMARY
(unaudited; $ in millions) Sept. Sept. QTD QTD YTD YTD
2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Total sales $563.7 $505.9 $966.2 $867.6 $4,086.7 $3,811.5
Total sales percentage change 11.4% 6.6% 11.4% 5.4% 7.2% 5.0%
Same-store sales percentage change 7.7% 1.7% 5.8% 1.0% 2.6% 0.5%
Number of stores (as of October 4, 2003)
Full-line 91 86
Rack and other 56 55
International Faconnable boutiques 31 23
--- ---
Total 178 164
Gross square footage 19,011,000 18,047,000
</table>
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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