Nordstrom’s Success
Nordstrom’s Success
Beata Anna Kolankiewicz
Principles of Marketing-MKT 100
Dr. Ella Carter
November 27, 2011
Strayer University
Nordstrom’s Success
1. Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom 's is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type.
Nordstrom is a prominent retailer that can be found in most major metropolitan cities. It was founded in 1901 by two partners, John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin who began selling shoes in the Seattle, Washington area. Today, Nordstrom operates over 180 retail locations across the country. (Gross & Salamie, n.d.) Although Nordstrom targets a more upscale clientele, it is still considered a large independent department store that offers a broad assortment of shopping and specialty goods such as apparel, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances and accessories for women, men and kids.
Department stores are those retailers that carry a broad array of merchandise, such as clothing, fragrances, cosmetics, housewares, electronics and even furniture. Each class of good is sold in its own department which is headed by a buyer that runs the department. The buyer in each department has many responsibilities including selecting what goods are sold in his/her department, promotions and even hiring employees. The buyer is very important because the skill with which they perform their job can directly affect the sales volume for the department. For example, the buyer for the men’s department must stay abreast of the upcoming fashion trends for men so they offer merchandise that the consumer will want. (Lamb, Hair, Jr, & McDaniel, 2010, p.229) Nordstrom operates very similarly to other department stores such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue and Dillard’s, not only in offering a wide variety of merchandise, but also in providing a very high level of customer service. As with the other department stores, each of Nordstrom’s departments is treated separately
Beata Anna Kolankiewicz
Principles of Marketing-MKT 100
Dr. Ella Carter
November 27, 2011
Strayer University
Nordstrom’s Success
1. Identify the type of retailer that Nordstrom 's is classified as. Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type.
Nordstrom is a prominent retailer that can be found in most major metropolitan cities. It was founded in 1901 by two partners, John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin who began selling shoes in the Seattle, Washington area. Today, Nordstrom operates over 180 retail locations across the country. (Gross & Salamie, n.d.) Although Nordstrom targets a more upscale clientele, it is still considered a large independent department store that offers a broad assortment of shopping and specialty goods such as apparel, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances and accessories for women, men and kids.
Department stores are those retailers that carry a broad array of merchandise, such as clothing, fragrances, cosmetics, housewares, electronics and even furniture. Each class of good is sold in its own department which is headed by a buyer that runs the department. The buyer in each department has many responsibilities including selecting what goods are sold in his/her department, promotions and even hiring employees. The buyer is very important because the skill with which they perform their job can directly affect the sales volume for the department. For example, the buyer for the men’s department must stay abreast of the upcoming fashion trends for men so they offer merchandise that the consumer will want. (Lamb, Hair, Jr, & McDaniel, 2010, p.229) Nordstrom operates very similarly to other department stores such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue and Dillard’s, not only in offering a wide variety of merchandise, but also in providing a very high level of customer service. As with the other department stores, each of Nordstrom’s departments is treated separately
References: Gross D Salamie D E Gale Directory of Company Histories: Nordstrom, IncGross, D., & Salamie, D. E. (n.d.). Gale Directory of Company Histories: Nordstrom, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2011, from http://www.answer.com /topic/nordstrom-inc Jacobson R R Salami D E Gale Directory of Companies Histories: the Neiman Marcus Group, IncJacobson, R. R., & Salami, D. E. (n.d.). Gale Directory of Companies Histories: the Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2011, from http://www.answer.com /topic/neiman-marcus Lamb C W Hair Jr J F McDaniel C 2010 MarketingLamb, C. W., Hair, Jr, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2010). Marketing (Custom ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning.