Nordstrom Closing 16 Stores, Atlanta Not Included

Phipps Plaza, Perimeter Mall have been spared from nearly 14 percent department store downsizing.

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Nordstrom is keeping its two Atlanta-area, full-line storefronts open, What Now Atlanta (WNA) learned Friday.

The high-end department store on Tuesday announced it would be closing 16 of its 116 stores around the country, a nearly 14 percent downsizing of the company’s real estate footprint.

At the time of the announcement, Nordstrom had not yet revealed which of its storefronts would be closing.

“Georgia stores are not part of the store closures,” a company spokesperson confirmed in an email to WNA.

The company’s Nordstrom Rack stores in Alpharetta, Buckhead, Buford, and Dunwoody, will also be unscathed by the closures, brought on by the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, felt by many retailers around the world.

Most of the closures will be in California, the spokesperson confirmed: Santa Barbara, Riverside, Escondido, Sacramento, Pleasanton, and Montclair.

The other ten includes Annapolis, Md.; Broomfield, Colo.; Chandler, Ariz.; Freehold, N.J.; Happy Valley, Ore.; Hurst, Tex.; Miami and Naples, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“We’ve been investing in our digital and physical capabilities to keep pace with rapidly changing customer expectations,” Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom, Inc., said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

“The impact of COVID-19 is only accelerating the importance of these capabilities in serving customers. More than ever, we need to work with flexibility and speed. Our market strategy helps with both, bringing inventory closer to where customers live and work, allowing us to use our stores as fulfillment centers to get products to customers faster, and connecting digital and physical experiences with services like curbside pickup and returns.”

With stores being temporarily closed since March 17, Nordstrom plans to reopen stores in a phased, market-by-market approach where allowed by local authorities and with the health and safety of employees, customers, and communities as a priority.

Given this phased approach, the Company is shifting its Anniversary Sale event from July into August.

As it re-opens stores, Nordstrom is making the following updates to help keep customers and employees safe and healthy:

  • Conducting health screenings for employees
  • Providing face coverings for employees and customers
  • Taking steps to allow for social distancing of six feet or more, including limiting the number of customers and employees in the store
  • Increasing cleaning and sanitization
  • Modifying the fitting room experience
  • Continuing to offer contactless curbside services at full-line stores
  • Altering hours of operation
  • Pausing or adapting high-touch services and customer events
  • Keeping tried on or returned merchandise off the salesfloor for a period of time

[Editor’s note: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly evolving as is its effect on Atlanta, and the City’s businesses and its residents. Click here for What Now Atlanta’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

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