{ Nordstrom way of shopping
As Nordstrom prepares to open its first Vancouver store, we look at how the U.S. retail giant’s philosophy has led to its success across the continent.
Nordstrom going big for Vancouver store
It took 114 years, but Nordstrom will open a Vancouver store this September. It will become the third Canadian Nordstrom and at 230,000 square feet (over three storeys), the Pacific Centre flagship store is 65 per cent bigger than most new stores Nordstrom opens. Thirty-year-old Swede John W. Nordstrom took the money he’d made panning for gold in Alaska and opened a Seattle shoe store in 1901. By the time Nordstrom died in 1963, it had become the largest shoe franchise in the U.S. That’s also the year the company diversified into department stores. Nordstrom stayed regional, not moving out of the U.S. Pacific Northwest until 1978, when it opened a store in Costa Mesa, Calif. It opened its first Canadian store in Calgary last fall and will open an Ottawa store on March 6.
Customers’ wants will dictate the store’s stock
Nordstrom is hiring 44 managers and 1,000 employees in Vancouver. Unlike Target, which failed miserably to stock items people wanted, Nordstrom is known for its efforts to give customers what they want. That’s why the three Seattle-area stores all stock different merchandise, even though they’re about 20-minute drives from each other.“When we open we’ll have our best guess of what people in Vancouver want to shop for,” spokesman John Bailey said. “Once we’re open we’ll listen to what our customers want us to improve upon. For example, when we opened in Arizona our buyers bought a lot of sleeveless tops and dresses, but people said‘Where are the cardigans? We have a lot of air conditioning here.’ ”
You can have someone else do your Christmas shopping
The blogosphere is full of women talking shopping and Nordstrom is often named a favourite over competition such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. One reason often cited is the Nordstrom “personal stylist,” who, if you want, will do all your shopping for you, even buying your Christmas gifts for family and friends. Nordstrom staff work on commission, but the words “hard sell”don’t apply thanks to a corporate culture that empowers front-line employees to make their own decisions, even on pricing, and encourages customer satisfaction over making a fast buck. None other than Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz agreed after reading The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence: The Handbook for Becoming the ‘Nordstrom’of Your Industry.
Vancouver manager used to be a stock boy
Manager Chris Wanlass and his partner Tom say they’re excited to move with their fiveyear-old twin boys to Yaletown. Wanlass is an example of what the company calls its strong promote-from-within philosophy. Wanless started out 23 years ago as a Nordstrom stock boy in Salt Lake City. He was a department manager in Atlanta when the company opened its first store in the U.S. South in 1997, became an assistant buyer in Seattle two years later and would become store manager at four locations over the past decade, before being asked to head up the Pacific Centre store.
They have the best bathrooms!
Women who once wondered why anyone would want to hang out in a washroom, at least those who post about such things, appreciate the women’s lounges in Nordstrom stores. They have sitting areas separate from the lavatories, and mothers’rooms where you can discreetly nurse your baby in a comfy chair. There are change tables, as well, in the men’s bathrooms and large family bathrooms with room for strollers and kids. “I love all the other aspects of Nordstrom, but even if they didn’t exist and were just like any other department store, I’d still choose to shop here because they spent time and money trying to make my life as a mom easier,” a San Diego blogger named Carol said on her In Pursuit of Pretty Things posting.