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At the age of 16, John W. Nordstrom leaves Sweden and comes to New York with $5 in his pocket. He works his way across the United States as a logger, miner and laborer, eventually making it to Seattle. In 1897, he heads to Alaska in search of gold in the Klondike; two years later he returns to Seattle with a $13,000 stake.
John W. Nordstrom and shoemaker Carl F. Wallin open their first store, Wallin & Nordstrom, on Fourth and Pike in Seattle.
The partners open a second store, in Seattle’s University District; it’s managed in succession by John’s sons Everett, Elmer and Lloyd.
Wallin sells his share of the business to the Nordstrom family. Everett, Elmer and Lloyd Nordstrom take over the business from their father.
In 1950, Nordstrom’s is quick to embrace a new mode of shopping, opening its first suburban store in Seattle’s Northgate Mall, one of the world’s first shopping malls.
In 1952,Nordstrom begins operating leased shoe departments in department stores across the West, growing to more than 15 locations.
The downtown Seattle store becomes the largest independent shoe store in the U.S., with over 100,000 pairs of shoes.
Moving beyond shoes, Nordstrom’s buys Best Apparel, a two-door apparel retailer that paves the way for the introduction of shoes and apparel under the Nordstrom Best name.
The three Nordstrom brothers hand the reins over to the third generation: Bruce, James and John, and Lloyd’s son-in-law Jack McMillan.
In 1971, the company is renamed Nordstrom Inc. and goes public.
Then in 1973, annual sales exceed $100M.
By 1975, the first Nordstrom Rack opens in the basement of the Downtown Seattle Nordstrom store.
Then in 1976, Nordstrom launches Nordstrom Place Two, a specialized, smaller-format boutique division designed for smaller markets.
In 1978, the first full-line store outside the Northwest opens at South Coast Plaza in Southern California.
Then in 1985, Nordstrom continues to open stores across the West Coast. Annual sales exceed $1B.
In 1988, Nordstrom becomes a national retailer with the opening of a full-line store at Tysons Corner, Virginia, followed by stores in New Jersey and Chicago.
Then in 1993, Nordstrom launches “The Catalog” and begins to build direct-to-customer fulfillment capabilities.
In 1995, Bruce, John, Jim and Jack retire, handing over management to the fourth generation. Annual sales exceed $4B.
Then in 1998, Nordstrom.com launches. The company exceeds $5B in total company annual sales.
Nordstrom expands to 80 full-line stores and 45 Rack stores.
Nordstrom buys control of Jeffrey, which has luxury boutiques in Atlanta and New York City.
Nordstrom begins its support of the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund.
Nordstrom opens its first international store at Chinook Centre in Calgary, Canada.
The first Nordstrom Local neighborhood service hub opens on Los Angeles’ Melrose Place.
Nordstrom opens its New York City Flagship at 57th and Broadway, driving the largest opening-day sales in company history.
In 2025, the company announces its acquisition by members of the Nordstrom family and El Puerto de Liverpool, marking its transition to become a private company.
2026 Marks the 20th year of the Nordstrom × Council of Fashion Designers of America partnership.
Today, Nordstrom employs over 55,000 people across the U.S., operates nearly 400 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations, and generates over $15B in annual revenue.
Thank you to all our customers, industry friends, and brand partners for joining us on this journey. We’re grateful for your support and excited for what comes next.