SWOT Analysis

Strengths
o Strong recognized brand name
o Good reputation among customers, vendors, suppliers and employees
o High quality and service standards
o Caters to customers diverse needs
Nordstrom has departments for children, teens, men and women. Their women’s departments
cater to the needs of those who are petite, plus sized, and pregnant.
o Wide and deep product assortment
o Constant growth and expansion
Nordstrom opens several stores every year. They have 5 stores currently being planned for
2011 and 2012, including their first location outside of the United States.
o Company has diversified its products and expanded business
o Excellent customer service—well known for excellent sales staff
Aside from their attentive sales staff, excellent customer service is provided with free
tailoring services and free shipping.
o Great CRM system: Personal book
Personal Book allows the company to track every purchase made by customers, which helps
salespeople follow up with their customers and find transaction history for returns when there
is no receipt present.
o Nordstrom’s philosophy has survived through more than 100 years
o Nordstrom’s services are customer oriented and customer driven.
o Liberal Return policy lowers customers perceived risk
Customers are more willing to purchase an expensive garment as they know they will be able
to return it no matter what if they are dissatisfied with it.
o Employs multiple channels to reach customer.
o Atmosphere/ store environment creates an enjoyable shopping experience
The store layout makes it easy to find merchandise and piano music provides a calming
environment.
 o One stop shop—has a wide assortment of products

Weakness
o As the company grows, staff personnel increases and it becomes difficult to control all
employees and the level of customer service they offer
o Large inventory lowers style change responsiveness
o Caters primarily to women, male market is underrepresented
There are only 4 men’s departments in the store, while there are over 15 departments for
women.

Opportunities
o Value conscious shoppers see Nordstrom’s as providing higher value in services and
return policies.
o Upscale market in the retail industry, likely to be stable
o Room for expansion on the international level
Currently there are no Nordstrom stores outside of the United States but there are plans to
open one in Brazil in the near future.

Threats
o Must stay on top of style changes and trends in apparel industry.
o High competition in retail industry
o Current state of the economy can cause middle and high income consumers to be more
price sensitive
o If middle and upper income consumers become more price sensitive they may begin to
buy product from Nordstrom Rack instead
o Economic recession has effected consumers buying patterns
o The internet allows consumers to compare merchandise, prices, and customer reviews
o Competitors, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus carry relatively the
same brands and products—Nordstrom must uphold a competitive advantage to keep and
attract consumers
o Selective Macy’s carry the some of the same brands and products—Macy’s is positioned
as having lower prices and more sales