JWN Nordstrom Inc

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) announced its plans to open 2 new Nordstrom Rack stores, one at the Belle Isle Station in Oklahoma City, Okla. and the other at the 901 Market Street property in Downtown San Francisco, Calif.

Nordstrom announced its entry in Okla. with its first Rack store in the Belle Isle Station. Enclosing about 34,000 square feet space, the new store will be located just east of Penn Square Mall. Occupying the space formerly held by Linens N Things, the new Rack store will join a mix of vibrant retailers in the mall, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Ross Stores Inc. (ROST), and Old Navy, a brand of Gap Inc. (GPS). The store is expected to open to public in fall 2013.

Further, Nordstrom is on track to expand its footprint in San Francisco with the opening of a new 2-storied Rack store in Downtown San Francisco by spring 2014. The company’s new Rack store will occupy a portion of the ground floor and the entire 2nd floor, enclosing about 45,496 square feet of the 90,000 square feet retail space in the 901 Market Street lease. Additionally, the lease, owned by Hudson Pacific Properties Inc., comprises 122,000 square feet of office space.

901 Market Street is a centrally located 212,000 square feet commercial space in Downtown San Francisco, conveniently situated at the corner of Fifth Street and Market Street, adjoining the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre and the Union Square BART entrance. The property also enjoys tremendous accessibility from the Union Square.

Currently, Nordstrom operates a full-line store in Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre just across Fifth Avenue on Market Street. Overall, the company operates 10 full-line stores and 10 Rack stores in Northern Calif.

Nordstrom’s Rack stores generally offer merchandise from Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com at a significantly reduced price to customers. Products at these stores are sold with discounts of roughly 50% to 60% from the original Nordstrom tags. Nordstrom Rack also carries a vast assortment of branded apparel, accessories and shoes that are available at Nordstrom stores, and are offered to customers at a discount of about 30% – 70%.

Nordstrom’s latest store openings signify the company’s commitment to strengthen its network with the aim of driving top-line growth. As of Apr 4, 2013, Nordstrom operated 242 stores, including 117 Nordstrom full-line stores, 121 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure&bond store and 1 clearance store. Nordstrom currently maintains a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

 
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