When brands want to scale their businesses, they often turn to Nordstrom. But as retail has evolved, the department store’s role has changed significantly, according to Jamie Nordstrom, chief merchandising officer.
“In the old days, we would go to a brand and buy their top two items and that’s how customers discovered them. Today, they don’t need a department store to introduce themselves,” Nordstrom said. “What we can do is tell their story. We have a role to play in helping them navigate the dynamic world we live in.”
It all starts with being “curious and open to what a specific brand’s needs are,” according to the executive. Sometimes, it can be about customer acquisition, or a desire to expand into new categories or genders. Many brands come to Nordstrom when they want to make the leap from direct-to-consumer to wholesale. “We start developing strategies that are solutions to problems they have,” Nordstrom said.
He cited the retailer’s strong partnerships with sought-after labels such as Skims, Vuori and On — all of which have taken their businesses to new heights in the past few years. “We want to have the reputation as the partner of choice. The better job we do with brands today, the more likely that the hot brand you’ve never heard of, that maybe doesn’t exist yet, is going to come to us first,” Nordstrom said.
The retailer’s emphasis on storytelling and authentic consumer connections has been a big advantage in a crowded fashion market.
“Nordstrom knows how to take an iconic name and turn it into a compelling in-store experience. With their curated assortments and elevated presentation, our brands show up in ways that connect with consumers beyond just the product,” said Jarrod Weber, global president of sports and lifestyle at Authentic Brands Group. “We own and build brands for the long term, so partnerships like this play an important role in strengthening brand equity, supporting our partners’ growth and delivering meaningful experiences for consumers.”
New Beauty
Brian Bills/Courtesy of Nordstrom
The Year Ahead
Among the immediate priorities for the retailer, according to Nordstrom, is to be a “solution” for brands in the designer space. “We have a big luxury business, but it could be bigger. We can play a role, and we’re open to how we might be able to do that,” Nordstrom said. The retailer also partners with the CFDA to support emerging talent, with Ashlyn and Christopher John Rogers among the brands slated to launch in 2026.
Shoes, which have always been the cornerstone of Nordstrom’s business, continue to be a prime opportunity. “As big of a footwear business as we have, there are a lot of customers who don’t buy shoes from us. That’s kind of what we wake up every morning thinking about, what’s required to do that. It’s service, selection, having sizes,” he said.
The disruption in the beauty space has also given Nordstrom the confidence to make a major statement in that category. Last year, it revamped the beauty space in the New York flagship, creating a more cohesive presentation packed with key brands and categories. “There’s a younger consumer coming in who wants different kinds of experiences. We have to figure out how to meet them where they are, and that’s exciting,” Nordstrom said.
Women’s apparel, the biggest piece of the pie, also continues to evolve, with a number of big names set to launch at Nordstrom this year. “Those trends change fast. Making sure we’re agile in moving off something and moving onto something new — that is both an exhausting part of the business and the most exciting,” Nordstrom said.
Being the go-to retailer for both vendor partners and consumers starts with a strong culture. “It’s a team sport in every sense of the word,” Nordstrom said. “Nothing happens here without a lot of people coming together from different functions, whether it’s merchandising or supply chain or store operations. We know that our success is 100 percent dependent on the person who’s interacting with the customer, and our job is to support them everywhere we can.”
One of the big ways the retailer is supporting its store teams is by arming them with valuable intel. “We’re focused on rebuilding the level of knowledge we’re giving them — how to style, what the key trends are, what the brands are we’re excited about. It’s easy to get that information online, but in-store, it’s about people,” said Emily Crandall, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of women’s and men’s apparel.
That mantra is something that top brand partners notice — and appreciate.
“Our partnership with Nordstrom has always been founded on the alignment of family values and the importance of protecting your people — your community of teams who work with you and those who support you and invest as customers,” said Manolo Blahnik chief executive officer Kristina Blahnik. “It’s always a joy to go into a Nordstrom store because the buyers have such incredible expertise in shoes, and I love to see the clever curation of our Manolos on the shop floors.”
Staying focused on what it does well is key to the retailer’s success, both now and down the road, according to Nordstrom.
“We’re not a competitor-focused company, we’re customer-focused. You look at what’s happened over the last few years, with brick-and-mortar and pure-play digital players, and that all adds up to a great lesson,” said the executive. “We’re best served being the best Nordstrom we can be. If we focus on what we do well and are obsessed with what we do every day, the customer’s going to notice and [we’re] going to be successful.”
“Our customers want and deserve the best brands and products the world has to offer, and we rely on the collaboration and goodwill of our partners to deliver this. Earning and sustaining these relationships requires intention, trust, and mutual benefit,” added co-CEO Pete Nordstrom.
Nordstrom Made
Courtesy of Nordstrom
The Apparel Opportunity
For Crandall, winning in the competitive apparel space starts with a combination of service and storytelling.
“When consumers have an option to shop anywhere, Nordstrom does a good job of telling them, ‘Here’s what we believe is the best,’” said the executive, who oversees women’s and men’s apparel, contemporary as well as specialized categories such as lingerie, swim and active. “Whatever we’re standing for is consistent in store and online. It’s really syncing up our initiatives, whether it’s the editorial we’re featuring online or the signage and visual merchandising in store.”
Digitally, finding the right content creators has been a key part of evolving the retailer’s messaging. “Especially for that younger customer, that’s the way he or she finds product and information,” Crandall said.
Communicating effectively with the customer also means constant conversation with partners. “The value brands bring to us is the DNA that they own and create,” Crandall said. “What we can tell them is how the customer responds.”
Nordstrom also has differentiated itself as a strong strategic partner for direct-to-consumer brands expanding into wholesale, citing Reformation — which Nordstrom has stocked since 2018 — as a “strong example of that.”
“It’s everything about how they present market appointments, the lead times, how we partner on the right assortment to go to market with, the story we tell, how we present it online and in store,” Crandall said. “There are some logistical things for brands that are just getting to wholesale, whether it’s RFID or how you ship product to our distribution centers.”
Turning to current business, Crandall was upbeat about the momentum across the apparel category as both women and men turn to dressier looks. “After a couple of years of very casual selling, people, we’re starting to see the customer vote for something more polished and tailored. We’re starting to see more novelty, color, more joy come through in silhouettes, prints and colors,” she said.
At the same time, denim “doesn’t show any signs of slowing down,” the executive said, and the contemporary market is another sizable opportunity. The retailer also continues to drive the under-$100 business, which attracts younger consumers into the store, as well as the $100 to $300 price point.
Nordstrom’s value proposition is “the high and low,” Crandall said.
Amid changing climate and weather patterns, the seasonal business is another priority. “Our outerwear and cold-weather season is reaching farther into spring than it historically has. We sell things like linen, white denim, shorts deep into July and August. There’s an opportunity to us a retailer to make sure we’re moving with the customer,” Crandall said.
The Private Brands Formula
Nordstrom’s in-house brands have seen rapid growth in the past few years, and the business will become even more important in the future.
“We’re building brands that have a clear DNA. We’re not building me-toos,” said Nina Barjesteh, president of Nordstrom Product Group. She said her team is “obsessed” with elevating quality across the portfolio of 16 private brands (nine at Nordstrom and seven at Nordstrom Rack.) We want to make sure they can sit next to all of the brands at Nordstrom.”
To achieve that goal, Nordstrom has been focusing on “brand clarity,” the executive said. “Does every brand serve an aesthetic and need?” The second priority is staying focused on fabrics, design details and “ensuring each garment is giving our customer the best quality at a really accessible price,” Barjesteh said.
Staying close to the consumer is a critical part of building the private brand portfolio. “We do surveys, look at market share and gather lots of different kinds of data to understand what our customers are looking for. That helps us determine what opportunities there are and how to better serve them,” she explained.
Across its private brands, the department store is seeing notable traction with sweaters and Italian-made suiting for men and women. In the Open Edit section, the focus is on trend-right and fashion-forward styles for a younger consumer — their first suit for prom or a job interview.
As the retailer continues to expand its private brands reach, it is navigating a rapidly changing sourcing landscape. “It’s been a challenging year to say the least. The most important thing is that we remained laser focused on not taking any quality out of our product,” Barjesteh said. “We are negotiating so we can share increased costs without changing the quality and still remain at an incredible price point.”
Shoes First
As Nordstrom kicks off its anniversary year, it’s doubling down on the category that started it all in 1901 — footwear.
The retailer plans to ignite excitement with exclusive partnerships and activations within its “Make Room for Shoes” campaign and a slate of anniversary initiatives. “We’re going big with our key partners, whether it’s Ugg or Sam Edelman or Birkenstock, and really making sure we set ourselves apart from the competition,” said Tacey Powers, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of accessories, home, kids and shoes.
Sam Edelman told WWD’s sister publication FN he marveled at Nordstrom’s ability to build brands into blockbuster businesses. His relationship with the retailer dates back to his days at Esprit, when he met a young Blake Nordstrom, a buyer at the time. Now Edelman’s own pumps and sandals rule the shoe floor.
In addition to nurturing the big brands, Powers and her team are focused on expanding the reach of names on the rise, including Rothy’s, Salomon and Mango. “The minute we see it selling, the gloves are off and we try and roll it as fast as we can,” she said. Driving the dress shoe business, which has rebounded significantly in the past year, is another priority.
“When people think about an occasion, they think about Nordstrom. When they’re going out to a high-stakes interview, their child’s wedding, whatever it might be, they come to us,” Powers said. “People are dressing up again. I can see with our own people in the office. Everyone’s taking it up a notch. We’re seeing pumps and dress boots sell. We still sell a whole lot of sneakers, but it was an incredible boot season this year. People are ready to get back to that.”
The men’s dress business also is seeing notable momentum, with Magnanni, To Boot and Santoni all resonating with consumers. In the active space, which has been developing rapidly, pushing technical product is at the top of the agenda.
“When we started down the active path, we bought more lifestyle product. The customer would come in, and they would pair the shoes with our apparel,” Powers recalled. “As we really developed to be an active force, we are building out the technical side of things. While we sell a lot of Sambas, we are going after Adidas running, Nike running. We’re rolling Asics out to all doors.” Nike continues to be one of Nordstrom’s top brands, and executives from both companies noted that the retailer’s milestone opens the door for more opportunity.
Nordstrom X Nike
Courtesy of Nordstrom
“The celebration of Nordstrom’s 125th anniversary not only honors the rich history of this iconic retailer but sets the stage for the continued partnership between Nike and Nordstrom through the thoughtful curation of exclusive product innovations and consumer-centric storytelling,” said Jason Kirrer, vice president of North America sales at Nike. “Together, Nike and Nordstrom will continue to evolve and reimagine retail elevation through refreshed spaces within the fleet.”
To mark the anniversary, Nike has partnered with Nordstrom to design an exclusive Pegasus Premium running shoe, dropping in May at select Nordstrom stores and online at Nordstrom.com. As the department store ramps up its technical and performance offerings, training and product know-how will become even more critical, Powers said. “We are putting a lot of training into our people so we show up as an authority,” she said.
A product summit, set for April in Seattle, will bring team members face to face with Nordstrom’s entire brand roster. “We are doing an intense immersion. It’s a good opportunity for our brands to sit across from our best people and hear what our customers are talking about,” Powers said. “We do a lot with field teams and in-the-moment training, but we think this immersion will really get our people back to being experts in fitting properly and selling footwear the right way.”
Nordstrom’s focus on customer service has always started with the team’s approach on the floor. “We started 125 years ago serving customers on your knees. There’s not a more humble position to be in. Selling shoes is hard,” Powers said, adding that one of her main goals this year is to travel to stores around the country to thank the most loyal and longtime salespeople.
By Design
There’s no question that Nordstrom has an opportunity to capture more market share in the designer space as the department store landscape undergoes significant change. “We have a younger customer base and that gives us a unique perspective,” said Rickie De Sole, vice president and fashion director at Nordstrom. “We’re constantly pushing ourselves to think differently about how we serve a wide range of markets, from New York, Los Angeles and Seattle to cities like Nashville and Chicago, each with its own definition of luxury.”
Winning with experience: “A major part of our strategy is emphasizing presentation and experience. We’re investing meaningfully in key categories. For example, we are going to make some exciting updates to our designer handbag floor in New York City, and this past year we expanded a new jewelry hall on the first floor. We view New York as our global stage — a place to test, learn and scale ideas that can influence the rest of our stores.”
How shoes will play a starring role in the 125th anniversary: “We’re bringing to life some exciting designer partnerships, many of which build on our heritage and our authority in shoes. A great example is our partnership with Christian Louboutin this year, which will include a personal appearance tied to the Seattle Art Museum. This feels especially meaningful in our hometown and underscores the strength of our relationships with world-class brands. Partnerships are one of the best ways to do that. They allow us to create moments of fantasy and deeper storytelling, whether through exclusive capsules or visual takeovers inside our stores. In 2026, we’ll bring this to life through collaborations with brands like Brunello Cucinelli and Manolo Blahnik, and many others that will be unveiled, with exclusive product and special experiences to match.”
Supporting and growing emerging talents: “Space has long been our destination for discovery, offering a creative point of view and a home for the next generation of designers. Building on its success, we are launching even more emerging brands in 2026. We’re excited for the opportunity to meet designers at different stages of their business journey — whether they’re early in development or direct-to-consumer brands ready to scale and have a physical retail presence. Our goal is to be the partner that helps take them to the next level.”
