Service, style distinguish Nordstrom

Jun 25, 2008 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- JWN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Nordstrom holds just three sales a year. But each one runs for about two weeks.

The Seattle-based retailer's first Pittsburgh-area store will differ in plenty of other ways from the region's established department stores when it opens at 10 a.m. Oct. 24 at Ross Park Mall, two company representatives said Tuesday.

Its Via C department will feature styles by emerging designers, which national retailers often ignore, spokesman Michael Boyd said.

Five shoe departments will sell extended sizes, with women's footwear running as high as size 13. Customers can relax at an in-store espresso bar and cafe. And when they phone the store with a question, an operator will pick up the call and find someone to provide the answer.

Service is a priority. "For the most part, a salesperson helps you from start to finish," Boyd said.

Retail experts agree the two-story, 138,000-square-foot Nordstrom store nearing completion at the mall off McKnight Road will fill a longstanding void in the Pittsburgh market.

A Nordstrom opening in a saturated West Coast market would feel the sting of tough economic times and $4 gasoline. "The great thing about Pittsburgh and the Great Lakes region is it's been underserved by high-market department stores for decades," retail analyst Burt P. Flickinger III said.

The giant merger three years ago that spread Macy's nationwide and, in Pittsburgh, ended Kaufmann's reign as the leading local department store created opportunities for new players, Flickinger said.

Ross Park's Nordstrom is on a site that Macy's once occupied. The recently expanded, vibrant mall has attracted Tiffany & Co. and a handful of other big-name retailers never seen before in the area.

The neighborhoods around the mall provide an ideal upscale demographic for Nordstrom, Flickinger said, adding, "This store, by the end of this decade or early next decade, should be one of Nordstrom's most profitable stores in the country."

Nordstrom nearly landed in Downtown's Fifth and Forbes corridor several years ago, under a plan that then-Mayor Tom Murphy created to redevelop the sagging central business district.

But Nordstrom, too, was struggling with weak sales and changes at the executive level. The company dropped its plans for Pittsburgh in 2000 and retrenched to heal its core business.

It since has rebounded, though the slow economy is pinching sales just as it is for most retailers. Nordstrom reported a $700 million profit on sales of $1.88 billion for the quarter ended May 3, compared to $739 million on $1.95 billion in sales for the same period a year ago.

Nevertheless, "People will still splurge on things. They may skimp on most items, but when they need a dress and shoes for a wedding they'll pay more," and stores like Nordstrom will benefit, Duquesne University marketing professor Audrey Guskey said.

Tony Gao, a retail expert and professor at Northeastern University in Boston, agreed. "They probably are doing better, in terms of withstanding the impact of the worsening economy, than a lot of the middle-of-the-road retailers," he said.

Nordstrom is likely to draw shoppers not just from Pittsburgh's north suburbs or even from the immediate region, but from towns as far as Erie, Uniontown and Steubenville, Ohio, Flickinger said.

Primary competitors will be Saks Fifth Avenue, Downtown, and of course Macy's. But Saks has an older, less trendy image, Guskey said. "I don't see a lot of young people shopping there," she said.

Macy's and Saks representatives weren't available to comment.

More about Nordstrom, which calls itself a fashion specialty retailer, not a department store: The Ross Park store's main entry will feature a glass canopy, and a central escalator under a skylight will take customers to open sales floors, where all departments are visible.

The chain sells private label shoes and clothing under the Nordstrom and other names, though this merchandise is 12 to 13 percent of the total, not 40 percent or more like in some stores. An open cosmetics department will allow shoppers to choose their own products, and the store will have tailor, alterations and other services.

About 300 employees will be hired, starting in August.

And shoppers shouldn't fear the chain's high-end image. Half-yearly clearance sales span periods in May and June, and November and December, spokeswoman Nicole Pietromonaco said. The yearly anniversary sale runs from late July to early August.

But at any time, visitors will find items ranging from $20 flip-flops to $300 dresses to $2,000 handbags. "We try to offer price levels for everyone," Pietromonaco said.

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