Nordstrom (JWN) To Close Store Amid Department Store Woes

Nordstrom Inc.’s (NYSE:JWN) announcement to close a full-line store in Dulles is not very surprising amid a market scenario where most department store chains are struggling due to store and mall traffic trends along with a tough retail landscape. However, this department store retailer has always been keen on store expansion, and closed only one store in 2016. Notably, this marks its second store closure in 2017. Nonetheless, the company’s industry peers have all recently embarked upon an aggressive store closure strategy to deal with the challenging trends in the retail sector.

Notably, department store retailers including the likes of Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) , Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD) and J. C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE:JCP) are concentrating on optimizing store fleets in order to stay competitive. Additionally, apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has also resorted to store closures, while sporting goods company DICK’S Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE:DKS) announced plans to bring a slowdown in its store growth plan.

Coming back to Nordstrom, the company revealed that it will wind down its 15 year old full-line store at Dulles Town Center in Dulles, VA. The store, which opened at this suburb location of Washington D.C. in Sep 2002, will be shutdown on Sep 8, 2017 after its operating agreement expires. The closure is likely to impact about 150 non-seasonal employees working in the location. However, Nordstrom plans to absorb interested candidates in its other stores located in the region.

The company operates five more full-line locations in the greater D.C. area at Tysons Corner Center, Montgomery Mall, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, Annapolis Mall and The Mall in Columbia. Apart from this, the company has 12 Rack stores in the region including the ones at Dulles Town Crossing, Fair Lakes Promenade, Tysons Corner, Gaithersburg, Friendship Center, Springfield Town Center, Pentagon Centre, Downtown D.C., 12th Street, Potomac Mills, Columbia Crossing and Annapolis Harbour Center. Further, it will continue to serve customers through its website Nordstrom.com, offering free shipping and returns.

Nordstrom has always been aggressive with store expansion strategy. The company has opened a total of 298 stores since 1990, while it closed only 17 stores. Additionally, the company is scheduled to open three full-line and 12 Nordstrom Rack stores this fall, including Rack store at Woodmore Towne Center in Glenarden, MD.

The company currently operates 354 outlets across 40 states. Its portfolio includes 122 full-line stores across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, two Jeffrey boutiques, 221 Nordstrom Racks and two clearance stores.

Nordstrom currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Further, the company’s share price trend reveals that the stock advanced 8.9% in the last three months, outperforming the Zacks categorized Retail – Apparel and Shoes industry’s fall of 5.4%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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