The Year That Was

Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) has reported net sales growth of 7.3 percent for its fourth quarter 2002, ending Jan. 31, 2003. Quarterly same-store sales were up 1.9 percent.

For fiscal 2002, net sales increased 6.1 percent and same-store sales increased 1.4 percent.

Fourth-quarter earnings jumped 18 percent, primarily driven, the company said, by lower selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales.

“We are proud of our people and the job that they did this past year,” said president Blake Nordstrom. “We are also encouraged by the opportunities we see to continue to improve both performance and service to our customers.”

During fiscal 2002, Nordstrom opened eight full-line stores, four Nordstrom Rack stores and one U.S. Faconnable boutique. Gross square footage for the year increased approximately 8 percent, from 17.04 million to 18.4 million square feet.