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Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
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December 4, 2003
NORDSTROM REPORTS NOVEMBER SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE OF 7.4%
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SEATTLE - December 4, 2003 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported
preliminary sales of $631.9 million for the four-week period ending November
29, 2003, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to sales of $573.6 million for
the four-week period ending November 30, 2002. Same-store sales increased 7.4
percent.
November same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic
regions and all merchandise categories except Women's Bridge and Special
Sizes.
Preliminary year-to-date sales of $5.2 billion increased 7.5 percent
compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $4.8 billion. Year-to-date same-store
sales increased 3.2 percent.
SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded November sales message, please dial (402)
220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.
GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a
4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. This change in the fiscal
calendar has resulted in differences in the number of days included in the
current period versus the same period in the prior year. Sales performance
numbers included in this sales release have been calculated on a comparative
4-5-4 basis. The Company believes that adjusting for these differences
provides a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs. 4-5-4) from which to evaluate
sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges 2002 GAAP sales to
the 4-5-4 comparable sales.
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Dollar % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) November 2003 November 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales
------------- ------------- ---------- ----------- ----------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 28 30
GAAP Sales $631.9 $616.8 $15.1 2.4% (0.1%)
Less Nov. 1-2, 2002 sales ($43.2)
Reported 4-5-4 sales $631.9 $573.6 $58.3 10.2% 7.4%
========= =========
4-5-4 Adjusted Days 28 28
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Dollar % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) YTD 2003 YTD 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales
-------- -------- ---------- ----------- ----------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 302 303
GAAP Sales $5,191.2 $4,841.3 $349.9 7.2% 2.5%
Less Feb. 1, 2003 sales ($18.2) -
Less Feb. 1-2, 2002 sales - ($30.4)
Reported 4-5-4 sales $5,173.0 $4,810.9 $362.1 7.5% 3.2%
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4-5-4 Adjusted Days 301 301
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FUTURE REPORTING DATES
Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided
in the table below.
December Sales Release Thurs., January 8, 2004
January Sales Release Thurs., February 5, 2004
Fourth Quarter Earnings Release Thurs., February 19, 2004
February Sales Release Thurs., March 4, 2004
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty
retailers, with 148 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe
store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 92 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) Nov. Nov. YTD YTD
2003 2002 2003 2002
---- ---- ---- ----
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Total sales $631.9 $573.6 $5,173.0 $4,810.9
Total sales percentage change 10.2% 4.3% 7.5% 5.6%
Same-store sales percentage change 7.4% (1.0%) 3.2% 1.0%
Number of stores (as of November 29, 2003)
Full-line 92 88
Rack and other 56 55
International Faconnable boutiques 31 23
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Total 179 166
Gross square footage 19,138,000 18,428,000
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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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