Nordstrom - Strategic Management

Nordstrom has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a shoe retailer in the early part of the 20th century. Now with the 4th generation of Nordstroms at the helm, it has positioned itself for the future with its customer-centric focus and rich history of entrepreneurial spirit. This analysis will focus on the transformation of their core operations and the potential for future strategic movement in the world of retail sales.
Corporate strategic and organizational practices From the early stages as a wholly owned family business, Nordstrom was characterized by its ability to provide the highest quality and largest selection of products at very competitive prices. One of the most distinctive corporate traits that helped guide the second generation of Nordstrom salesmen was their passion for entrepreneurial thinking and their immense dedication to providing outstanding customer service and repeat customer satisfaction. Nordstrom's constant focus on serving their customer's needs instilled a solid reputation across the retail environment for providing exceptional service that differentiated them from the competition. The corporate imperative to maintain a competitive pricing structure across all merchandise categories and geographic regions was a key strategy that further deterred regional department stores, who faced more complex pricing structures based on moving large volumes of inventory, from directly competing with Nordstrom based on a particular price point. Nordstrom also focused their buying strategies on providing more specialized, private label clothing lines and fashion accessories with limited mainstream apparel that was a stark contrast to the extensive mainstream clothing labels and product lines of their competition, which also included home décor and electronics. Nordstrom created additional distinction from their competition by cross training their salespeople on all product lines as opposed to other department stores where the