Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by marshd1000 »

16 Nordstrom stores will not re-open:

Nordstrom permanently closing 16 full-line stores as it adapts to coronavirus era

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/r ... virus-era/
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by SamSpade »

I could see Clackamas Town Center being one, leaving the Portland, Ore. market with two "traditional" stores -
Washington Square (decent cap ex appears to be spent here)
downtown Portland (significantly valuable real estate, I believe they own it, cap ex spent here too in recent years)

Tacking on here, the national media seem to want to talk about Lord + Taylor filing for bankruptcy in the coming weeks. Luxury retailers are certainly not immune to changes that were already happening and then this pandemic has accelerated.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by storewanderer »

What happens to them when they have only a few full line stores and run hundreds of "Rack" Stores? A lot of the reason the "Rack" Stores are so popular is due to the reputation the full line stores have.

It appears they are trying to evolve into being an off price chain.

I wonder what % of revenue and profits comes from Rack and what from Full Line.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by lake »

Arden Fair is one of them ( https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/artic ... stage_lead )

Not shocked, but still surprising. Arden is a very successful mall that (with Sears likely closing and the theatres closing) will soon have 3 anchor vacancies. They're redeveloping the land adjacent to the Sears store into a large mixed use apartment complex. With light rail nearby I wouldn't be surprised if Arden takes a lifestyle route. The Friedman family that owns it is very active in developing downtown Sacramento so I doubt they'll let it slide downhill without intervention.

I also agree that Clackamas seems like a definite closure. It is a good mall, but Washington Square is just the superior mall. I don't see Nordstrom leaving Downtown Portland anytime soon. Also wouldn't be surprised to see Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton go with Walnut Creek not too far away. Another NorCal possibility is Hillsdale in San Mateo.

Down south I could see Westfield North Country in San Diego, Montclair Place, and Mission Viejo.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by architect »

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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by storewanderer »

Arden Fair does not surprise me after my visit to that mall earlier this year. That is a very busy mall, though. There is a lot of land around it to build a more dense mixed use development than just the current apartments under construction, and keep a lot of the retail there in place... dense... not sure how good that sounds right about now.

However I do pause in seeing the Nordstrom there had 375 employees. I have to think, with that many employees, they had to have been doing a pretty significant amount of sales volume in the store.

Given that Florin is gone and Country Club isn't really a mall anymore, and Sunrise is declining, I think Arden will continue as a mall long term and be one of those malls that successfully transitions to mixed use; the central location, sheer amount of restaurants and hotels nearby, proximity to downtown, fairgrounds, and the light rail connection really helps there.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by klkla »

I'm a little surprised they couldn't make Santa Monica Place work. That is a densely populated area with a lot of disposable income in a great location. Nordstrom's style has always been geared towards the County Club set, though, and probably not hip enough to make much of a dent in the Santa Monica area.

Riverside, Escondido and Montclair don't surprise me at all. I think those stores would have closed eventually with or without Covid19.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: May 7th, 2020, 5:58 pm I'm a little surprised they couldn't make Santa Monica Place work. That is a densely populated area with a lot of disposable income in a great location. Nordstrom's style has always been geared towards the County Club set, though, and probably not hip enough to make much of a dent in the Santa Monica area.

Riverside, Escondido and Montclair don't surprise me at all. I think those stores would have closed eventually with or without Covid19.
I think most of the retail that will be closing would have closed with or without COVID-19. This is just pushing up the timeline.

I am going to be curious to see if Nordstrom closes any Rack Stores.

I suspect they will try not to do that, because it will not look good if they do that. They are basically hitching their future on Rack at this point. The Reno Rack is pretty terrible in my opinion, almost no Men's clothing, basically a useless store for me. The store has far less traffic than the Ross and TJ Maxx across the road but that is to be expected given its smaller footprint I suppose. I have heard mixed reviews of the store from female shoppers, some like it and others do not.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by marshd1000 »

I am a little bit surprised that maybe there wouldn’t have been another Washington state closure. Maybe because it is a Washington State icon that none of the remaining stores closed. While the three stores I am about to mention are not bad stores, I think that possibly the areas they are in no longer are in their demographic. A long shot closure would have been Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila. I maybe could have seen that as South King County is not known for being upscale. More realistically, I could have seen Tacoma Mall on the list as Tacoma has never been seen as upscale. But then again more people have been moving there to escape the high prices of Seattle. So Tacoma’s increasing popularity has probably helped Nordstrom there. The other store that I thought could have been on the list would have been Spokane. It was the key anchor in the redeveloped River Park Square downtown mall. While Spokane does have a similar reputation and demographic as Tacoma, perhaps the fact that it is the only Nordstrom between, Seattle, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Calgary probably helps. Plus like Tacoma and Westfield Southcenter, Spokane has had a Nordstrom presence since the time when it was a small regional company that wasn’t seen as a luxury department store.
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Re: Nordstrom to close 16 stores post COVID

Post by architect »

Out of the closing stores, the only two that I'm familiar with are Hurst, TX and Broomfield, CO.

The Hurst store was opened in the early 2000's as part of a large-scale expansion of North East Mall in an effort to draw more traffic from Fort Worth and nearby suburbs. Although the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the mall are solidly middle-class, the mall is located at a major highway intersection for commuters traveling between wealthy areas such as Southlake, and Fort Worth. However, for several years in the late 2000's through the mid 2010's, this prime location became a liability as highway reconstruction made the mall a massive pain to get to. In addition, a big box center which was later constructed on the south end of the mall property has increased traffic in the area, further inconveniencing visitors to the mall itself. Although the mall still pulls good traffic, this Nordstrom has always felt a bit out of place, particularly since a Saks co-anchor closed in the mid-2000's. Since then, the mall has trended mostly mid-level. Closure here is surprising simply due to the fact that it is the only store on the Fort Worth side of the Metroplex, but also isn't exactly unexpected as frankly, most area residents will simply drive to Dallas on a Saturday to shop considering its status as one of the top shopping destinations in the country. If Neiman Marcus is forced to close their Fort Worth store during the bankruptcy process, or is forced out of business completely, I could see Nordstrom making a run on their recently-completed store at the Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth.

The Broomfield store isn't surprising, as both the attached mall (Flatiron Crossing) and surrounding retail area have struggled with vacancies for years since being developed in the early 2000's. In many ways, the mall and surrounding retail was developed in anticipation of growth which never fully materialized, and vacancies have been exacerbated by the downfall of many chains since the late 2000's. Much of the upscale retail and wealthy neighborhoods in the Denver area tend to be on the south side of the city, so there simply aren't high-income shoppers to support this store. After driving through the area last year, it frankly feels like you're in an apocalyptic film.
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