NORDSTROM

Today's Nordstrom had humble beginnings as a Seattle-based shoe store. Wallin & Nordstrom was founded by Johan "John" Nordstrom and Carl Ferdinand Wallin, in 1901. After twenty-seven years in business, Nordstrom sold his interest in the shoe store to his sons; Everett and Elmer. Wallin sold his share in 1929. In 1930, a remodeled store re-opened under the Nordstrom's Shoes moniker. 

The company acquired Best's Apparel, a Jet City-based clothier, in 1963. After a brief stint as Nordstrom Best, the name of the mercantile was shortened to simply Nordstrom. This rebranding took place in December 1972. The first stores outside of the Pacific Northwest opened, in Alaska, in March 1975. The first California operation was dedicated, in Costa Mesa, in May 1978. 

Nordstrom expanded nation-wide during the 1980s and '90s. The first store in the Northeast was dedicated in Fairfax County, Virginia, in March 1988. An initial Midwestern store came inline in Oak Brook, Illinois, in April 1991, with the first Southwestern unit debuting in Dallas County, Texas, in March 1996. The first Southeastern Nordstrom opened, in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 1998. Nordstrom's first Canadian store was inaugurated in Calgary, Alberta, in September 2014. A Puerto Rican unit made its debut in San Juan, in March 2015.

Meanwhile, a discount outlet division, known as Nordstrom Rack, had been launched in 1973. The first store was located in the basement of the downtown Seattle Nordstrom. The first freestanding Nordstrom Rack opened, in Clackamas, Oregon, in 1983. The first Canadian location was dedicated in Vaughan, Ontario, in March 2018. 

In mid-2021, there were 100 full-line Nordstrom stores. These were operating in thirty-nine states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces. At the same time, there were 352 Nordstrom Rack units. These operated in forty-one states and three Canadian provinces.

 

NORDSTROM SHOPPING MALL STORES:

*NORTHGATE MALL, Seattle, WA (1972) [previously Best's / Nordstrom Best]

*AURORA VILLAGE CENTER, King County, WA (1974)

*WASHINGTON SQUARE MALL, Tigard, OR (1974)

A collection of Nordstrom's many nameplates, which span from the 1950s into the 21st century.