Leading fashion retailer,
Nordstrom Inc.
(
JWN
) seems to be on an expansion spree, as the company announces its
plans to open two more Nordstrom Rack stores, one in Cleveland,
Ohio; and the other in downtown Chicago, Illinois.
Nordstrom's new Rack store towards the west side of Cleveland,
positioned at the Promenade in Crocker Park, will be the company's
second Rack store in Cleveland. Enclosing a store space of about
34,000 square feet, the new store will replace the Borders Books
space at Crocker Park. A lifestyle center, the Crocker Park, is
owned by Stark Enterprises and already houses leading retailers and
restaurant chains like
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
(
BBBY
), H&M, Trader Joe's, Victoria's Secret and
The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
(
CAKE
).
The company currently operates a full-line store in the Beachwood
Place and a Nordstrom Rack at Legacy Village in the east side of
Cleveland. The company's Crocker Park store scheduled to open to
public in fall 2013, will be the company's inaugural store in the
west side of Cleveland.
Nordstrom's second announcement marks the opening of the company's
third Rack store in downtown Chicago, where it already operates
stores at the Chicago Avenue and State Street. Located a few miles
from these stores, the company's new two-level Rack store at
Collection Anex in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood will be
spread over an area of 40,000 square feet. The new store will be
located right across the street from
Whole Foods Market Inc.
(
WFM
) and adjoining to The North Avenue Collection, which houses top
brands like Banana Republic, J.Crew and Victoria's Secret.
Nordstrom's new Chicago showroom is expected to begin operations in
spring 2014.
Additionally, the company has four full-line stores in business in
the greater Chicago region including the store on Michigan Avenue.
Nordstrom's Rack stores generally offer merchandise that are in
trend 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% to 70%.
Nordstrom's latest store openings signify the company's commitment
to expand its store network with the aim of driving top-line
growth. As of October 9, 2012, Nordstrom operated 117 Nordstrom
full-line stores, 116 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1
treasure&bond store and 1 clearance store, thus bringing the
total store count to 237.
Moreover, the company has targeted to open 16 new stores in fiscal
2012 consisting of 1 full-line store and 15 Nordstrom Rack Stores.
Additionally, the company has planned to add 24 new Rack stores in
fiscal 2013 and intends to operate 230 Rack stores by the end of
2016.
Nordstrom currently maintains a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates
into a short-term Buy rating. However, our long-term recommendation
on the stock remains Neutral.
BED BATH&BEYOND (BBBY): Free Stock Analysis
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NORDSTROM INC (JWN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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