Nordstrom (Seattle) has announced its plans to continue expanding its off-price Rack locations, reports Retail Dive, reportedly opening four more stores by next year.
Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom unveiled the retailer’s plans during a fireside chat with Telsey Advisory Group on Tuesday. Currently the retailer operates 250 Rack stores.
Nordstrom had begun opening new physical Rack locations in recent years but slowly tapered off expanding. After internal research revealed shoppers were unwilling to drive more than 15 or 20 minutes to reach a Rack store, the company reconsidered its expansion efforts.
Rack sales have grown 10.3 percent year over year but fell 3.6 percent in comparison to 2019. The stores will offer more than in-store shopping and will serve as a hub for online pick-up orders and returns. Nordstrom sees this as a way to bring new customers to Rack.
Erik Nordstrom says, “We had both quality and content issues through the pandemic with the Rack, and they’re related … The real key to Rack, and our Northstar, is having coveted brands at great prices. And when I say coveted brands — it’s brands, a lot of them, that customers see in our Nordstrom channel, but also brands that they see out there. When we have access to these brands they give us a fairly unique product offering, and access to those brands was hampered during the pandemic.”