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Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
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May 6, 2004
NORDSTROM APRIL SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE 10.0% PERCENT
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SEATTLE - May 6, 2004 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported
preliminary sales of $491.7 million for the four-week period ending May 1,
2004, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to sales of $437.5 million for the
four-week period ending May 3, 2003. Same-store sales increased 10.0 percent.
April same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic
regions and all major merchandise categories.
Preliminary quarter-to-date sales of $1.5 billion increased 16.6 percent
compared to sales of $1.3 billion in 2003. Quarter-to-date same-store sales
increased 13.2 percent.
FIRST QUARTER GUIDANCE
Nordstrom is raising its first quarter earnings expectations to reflect
strong sales and gross profit performance. The company now expects earnings
to exceed $0.40 per diluted share for the quarter compared to $0.20 last year.
SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded April sales message, please dial (402)
220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.
GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a
4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. The first quarter of 2003
includes one more day than the first quarter of 2004. The Company believes
that adjusting for this difference provides a more comparable basis from which
to evaluate sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges the
quarter-to-date 2003 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.
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Dollar % Change % Change
Sales Reconciliation ($M) QTD 2003 QTD 2004 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales
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<s> <c> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Number of Days GAAP 92 91
GAAP Sales $1,335.5 $1,535.4 $199.9 15.0% 11.5%
Less Feb. 1, 2003 sales ($18.2) --
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Reported 4-5-4 sales $1,317.3 $1,535.4 $218.1 16.6% 13.2%
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4-5-4 Adjusted Days 91 91
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FUTURE REPORTING DATES
Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided
in the table below.
First Quarter Earnings Thurs., May 20, 2004
Annual Meeting Tues., May 25, 2004
May Sales Release Thurs., June 3, 2004
June Sales Release Thurs., July 8, 2004
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty
retailers, with 149 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe
store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 93 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,
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Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at
http://www.nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs.
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SALES SUMMARY Apr. Apr. QTD QTD
(unaudited; $ in millions) 2004 2003 2004 2003
------ ------ ------ ------
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Total sales $491.7 $437.5 $1,535.4 $1,317.3
Total sales percentage change 12.4% 5.2% 16.6% 3.4%
Same-store sales percentage change 10.0% (0.4%) 13.2% (1.5%)
Number of stores (as of May 1, 2004)
Full-line 93 89
Rack and other 56 54
International
Faconnable boutiques 31 24
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Total 180 167
Gross square footage 19,289,000 18,613,000
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Investor Contact:
Stephanie Allen, 206-303-3262
Media Contact:
Deniz Anders, 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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