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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nordstrom launches first store in Canada

Angel Gonzalez Seattle Times

CALGARY, Alberta – An applauding crowd of more than 2,000 shoppers took Nordstrom’s first Canadian store by storm on its opening day in this oil-rich city Friday, an auspicious start for the Seattle retailer’s international debut.

Hundreds milled about at a pre-opening “Beauty Bash,” where shoppers were handed bags with samples while they waited for the store to open.

“We are very excited. I woke up my baby to come here this morning,” said Carolyn Cheetham, pointing to her 4-month-old daughter.

Cheetham, who like many in this city works in the oil and gas industry, said she has visited Nordstrom in Seattle and Chicago and hopes that Nordstrom brings here the “same products they have in the States.”

Many Canadian shoppers were disappointed with recent forays into their country by U.S. retailer Target, which did not replicate the pricing or the variety of its U.S. stores.

For Nordstorm, which began expanding outside of its Pacific Northwest home in the 1970s, the Calgary opening represents a big milestone – and an opportunity to keep growing its full-line stores even as many consumers in the U.S. flock online.

The Canada debut means “the company has matured to the point where it can undertake the complexities of international operations,” said Erik Nordstrom, a fourth-generation member of the founding family and the executive who heads online operations and until recently headed full-line stores.

For a “company that started as a shoe store in Seattle, it’s a big milestone,” he said in an interview.

“This is the highest priority for our company, right now,” Erik Nordstrom said.

Nordstrom plans to open five additional stores over the next two years, including one in Vancouver, British Columbia.