•Nordstrom was started by a poor
immigrant from Sweden named
John W. Nordstrom and his friend,
Carl F. Wallin.
•Nordstrom, who had come into
some money from gold mining in
Alaska, was interested in investing.
Wallin, who owned a shoe repair
store seemed the natural choice.
•In 1901 a shoe store called Wallin
& Nordstrom opened in downtown
Seattle.
John W. Nordstrom
Wallin & Nordstrom Shoe Store 1901
•In 1928, Nordstrom retired and sold his share of the company to his sons,
Everett and Elmer. Soon after Nordstrom’s partner Wallin retired and sold his
share of the company to the Nordstrom sons.
•In 1933, Nordstrom’s third son Lloyd became a part of Nordstrom, Inc.
•Under the brothers’ influence the store grew to be the largest independent
shoe chain in the United States.
•By 1960 the chain had expanded to eight stores across the state of
Washington and Oregon, the original store in Seattle becoming the largest
shoe store in the country.
•Nordstrom brothers decided to venture into clothing apparel. In 1963 they
bought a Seattle-based clothing store called Best Apparel. A few years
later the company purchased another fashion retail store in Portland,
Oregon creating a new experience under the name, Nordstrom Best,
where customers could shop for shoes and apparel in the same location.
•In 1966, men’s and children’s clothing were introduced to the store.
Nordstrom Best was so successful that within two years the brothers
opened two more stores in Washington with the same concept.
•The Nordstrom brothers then retired and left the company to the third
generation.
•A few years later the company
went public, and in 1973 became
the largest-volume West Coast
fashion specialty store and officially
changed the name to Nordstrom,
Inc.
•Two years later they had expanded
to Alaska and opened the first
Nordstrom Rack as a clearance
center for full-line merchandise.
From there they expanded into the
California market and by 1988
opened their first East Coast store in
Virginia.
•Nordstrom today is still growing
nationally and satisfying costumers
daily.
•Nordstrom products range from wedding dresses and designer collections
to home décor… and, of course, Shoes.
•They provide a wide variety in many different product categories that
keep them one of the top selling high-end department stores.
•Currently the Nordstrom, Inc. name has over 207 locations in over 28
states and is looking to expand into Canada and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
•Their competitors are retailers such as Macys, Saks 5th Ave.,
Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, and Neiman Marcus.
•Nordstrom in a upper mid-scale retailer whose target market is middle
and upper middle class women of varying racial backgrounds, ranging
from their twenties to early-fifties, that are interested in affordable fashion
for themselves and their families.
•Nordstrom advertises through catalogs and email, and also by
putting advertisements in magazines typically directed towards
minority groups.
•They have advertised in publications such as Essence, Latina,
and Ability magazine, a magazine that features celebrities
with disabilities.
•Similar to how they separate their product categories, Nordstrom
advertising through email often focuses on lifestyle aspects of the
customer catering to information collected by each individual
rather than advertising to one main customer.
•One of the advantages of this company is that they have been
around for a while and have a positive image; catering to people
with disabilities and often using models with disabilities for their
marketing. They also have the ability to anticipate costumer
needs and adapt to them.
•As of this past fiscal year, ending in January 2011, their sales had reached
$2327.9 million.
•In 2008, Nordstrom was leading its competitors in online sales with $169
million. However, in 2008, competitors like Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s
opened two new stores in Dubai. By then Saks and Neiman Marcus had
already opened international stores.
•Although Nordstrom’s has opened its online shipping to 30 countries
outside of the United States, they have yet to open any brick and mortar
stores on any foreign soil
• operates internationally in Canada and The United Kingdom.
• offer online shopping to about 36 countries and accepts different
currencies
“leave it better than
we found it”
•Crochet Kids is an international non-profit organization that
employs Ugandan women to crochet men’s and women’s
fashion hats and accessories.
•They are paid fair wages and also receive training and
education that helps support and better their families.
•Nordstrom teamed up with KK in 2010
Within their distribution centers, they recycle
plastic, glass, metal, paper, corrugated and
organic waste.
 Their purpose is to recycle everything instead of
throwing the usual disposables into wastebaskets.
 have managed to redirect 82% their waste from
landfills and into recyclable waste cans and plan
to achieve 90% by the end of the year

“In addition, the materials had to be easy to
procure, assemble and ship—all while reducing
material usage and waste…This saves materials
by eliminating unused carrying space and now
the handles are longer to be more comfortable.”
 managed to save about 459 tons of paper and 1.2
million yards of ribbon


new packaging and tags are slightly shorter,
metallic silver, and come with an attached ribbon
on top of the boxes

They also have redesigned their bags from plastic
to a non-woven acid free bag
COUNTRY INFORMATION






Located in Southeastern
Asia
63 Provinces and Cities
Current population: 90
million people
Central Government :Hanoi
France, founded Vietnam,
beginning in 1858 and
completed by 1884,
After World War II, became
more economically liberal
Consists of 90 million
people
 Ethnic groups: Kinh, Tay,
Thai, Muong, Khmer,
Chinese, Nung, Hmong
 Most Popular Language:
English

Communist country
 Practices the European civil law system
 Consists of: chief of state (president), head
of government, cabinet, and elections
every five years
 The National Assembly elects the president
while the prime minister is appointed by the
president. The National Assembly and
President are the only members involved in
the elections

Textile Company
Vietnam

Vinatex: largest textile and apparel
industry

One of the main components of
maintaining the country’s economy
Second largest exporter after crude oil
Country known to produce fiber, textiles,
knitting, complete dyeing, towels, and
cotton



Express, Hucke, Itochu, JC Penney,
Jupitar, Kmart, Kowa, Lee Cooper, Li &
Fung, Mast Industries, Nichimen, Nissho
Iwai, Otto, Sara Lee, Seidensticker,
Sumitomo, Tomen, Tommy Hilfiger,
Victoria’s Secret, and Wal-Mart
Known for their cotton textile and
apparel industry
 (2010) Phong Phu Corporation built an
$80 million cotton fabric and apparelmanufacturing complex in Da Nang.
 Expansion of new apparel industries has
created many new opportunities
 Members of World Trade Organization

› Strengthening it’s numbers in cut and sew
operations and recently investing in spinning
and weaving operations.



1. Doi Moi Reformation (1986): gave
encouragement to the private sector and
allowed market forces to determine the
allocation of resources
2. The Collapse of the Comecon (Council for
Mutual Economic Cooperation) bloc in 1990-91
and that of the Soviet Union in 1991:prompted
the country to link with the West and enter into
the International Community
3. They were granted by the USA in normal
trade regulations which dramatically reduced
imported tariffs in the U.S

Vietnamese culture:
Very family-oriented
› Men are known to deal
with the outside world
while woman are there
to care of home.


Religious freedom is
documented in the
nations constitution
Buddhist country, is
free to have other
religions such as:
Christianity,
Catholicism
appointments are
required and should be
made several weeks in
advance
 very punctual people
and expect people to be
punctual as well
 Hand shakes: expected
before and after the
meeting, some may use
both hands

very patient and based on building
relationships; which are both business
and personal
 Business decisions are a process and
take time, so patient is key in the business
culture of Vietnam. Although
negotiations can be slow, the business
culture of Vietnam remains strong in all
aspects of the country’s business
relationships.

VIETNAM

Initially began as a single-party state. Following the Vietnam War, the
government became a Communist country with strict regulations.

After an economic crisis with almost half of the country starving and
facing inflation rates upwards of 800%, the government decided to
reform and begin the Doi Moi (renovation) process in 1986.

Now being a more market-oriented system coming from a centralized
economy, this allowed the country to focus more on allowing more
private ownership of state-owned businesses, foreign trade, and
numerous other implementations.

Since then, they are well known for being one of the fastest growing
countries in history growing an average of 7.2% per year since its
induction. This resulted in lifting many out of poverty as the level
jumped from 58% to 12% between 1993 and 2010.

As a way to also increase their investment potential, Vietnam
became a part of the World Trade Organization in 2007.

Vietnam has their fair share of ups and downs.
While their economy hit crises and had to
repeatedly devalue their currency (most recently in
2010), it automatically created inflationary
pressures.

The prices for basic commodities shot through the
roof and threatened the progress that has been
made thus far.

The government created an economic strategy for
the coming years projecting an annual increase of
7%-8% with export levels coming in at 26% (per
figure below).

With this plan in action, foreign investors are
beginning to regain confidence in country’s currency
as well as its market sector.

Vietnam being in a convenient location makes it easier
to base its exports to the rest of Asia unlike its
neighboring country Laos who have many added
transportation costs due to it being landlocked.

Vietnam is also appealing due to the creation of new
entry points for investors through business privatization
development, liberalization of bank sectors, and the
large, skilled, and low-cost labor force it has to offer.

Cambodia and Laos can pose as competition when it
comes to low labor costs and growing GDP levels as
well.
VIETNAM

Given the state of the economy, consumer behavior is
drastically changing and adapting to more modern standards.

Despite the fact that Nordstrom’s competitors such as: Saks Fifth
Avenue, Dillard’s, Von Maur, and Bloomingdales have yet to
venture past the UK and Canada, it only makes it more
appealing for Nordstrom to be the first to penetrate the growing
market.

Modern retailing has increased upwards of 26% in 2009, an
increase of 3% from the year before. At this rate the demand for
westernized fashion will only be higher in demand progressively
over a short period of time.

Typical retail formats are smaller stores in general due to lack of
retail space and routine visitations to corner stores. While this is a
factor in whether a department store is wanted or even needed,
it is emphasized by the fact that Vietnam is considered one of
the five most lucrative retail markets to date.
VIETNAM

Ranked 45th in largest goods export and 27th
in largest supplier of import goods in 2010.

Also in 2010, the United States measured
$14.3 billion in Vietnam imports and $3.7
billion in U.S. exports.

Typical U.S. trade exports include: machinery,
vehicles, food waste/animal feed, iron and
steel, cotton/yarn/fabric, red meat, dairy,
and feeds and fodders.

US imports from Vietnam include: knits,
wovens, furniture/bedding, footwear, electric
machinery, unroasted coffee, and tree nuts.