The History of Nordstrom Inc

Historical Essay: Nordstrom Inc

A common household name, Nordstroms is known all over the world but their empire is mainly located in America. A sophisticated department store, this well known chain was started over a century ago in a tiny shoe store. Throughout the years this company was passed down through the generations and has evolved into the modern and fashionable company we know it as today.

John W. Nordstrom was just a sixteen year old Swedish immigrant when he arrived in Minnesota in 1887, with only five dollars to his name and not a word of English. In 1899, he moved to Seattle, where he opened a shoe store with a shoemaker named Carl Wallin, whom he had met in Alaska, and the shop opened in 1901. The two young men had no idea the industry they were about to build. Business quickly picked up. By 1905 the business continued to grow, and by 1923 the partners had opened a second store. But by 1928 John Nordstrom decided to retire at 57, passing on his share to his two sons. By the next year his partner Wallin had retired as well and sold his share to the next generation of Nordstroms. By 1930 without Wallin, the next generation decided to change the name of the shoe store to Nordstroms.

The business that John Nordstrom retired from was a much larger than it was the year it was founded in 1901. The next generation of Nordstroms recognized their responsibility to expand their father’s success, so in 1929 they doubled the size of their Seattle store. During the thirties the stores managed to be successful during the Great Depression, but faced a new threat during World War II, when leather rationing prohibited U.S. consumers from buying more than three pairs of shoes per year. In the postwar decades, the Nordstrom brothers b...

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...ugh considered innovative in many areas, Nordstrom had stayed away from large investments in systems technology prior to the mid-1990s. In 1995 a new information system was installed, along with a new system for personnel, payroll, and benefits processing. Late in 1998 the company launched its online store at nordstrom.com. Nordstrom stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in June 1999.

Simple John Nordstrom from Sweden was just another immigrant with a dream, and he had no idea of the empire his modest little shoe store would someday become. Over a hundred years after he and Wallin went into business together, Nordstroms is one of the world’s largest department stores, and everyday they continue to grow. Throughout the years this company was passed down through the generations and has evolved into the modern and fashionable company we know it as today.