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Nordstrom Reports June 2003 Sales

SEATTLE, Jul 10, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $655.7 million for the five-week period ending July 5, 2003, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to sales of $616.0 million for the five-week period ending July 6, 2002. Same-store sales increased 1.9 percent.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/NORDLOGO )

June same-store sales in full-line stores increased in the Northwest, East Coast and Central States geographic regions. By merchandise division, same-store sales increased in Shoes, Men's Apparel, Cosmetics, Women's Active Wear and Women's Designer Apparel.

Preliminary quarter-to-date sales of $1.1 billion increased 7.2 percent compared to 2002 quarter-to-date sales of $1.0 billion. Quarter-to-date same-store sales increased 2.5 percent.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $2.4 billion increased 5.2 percent compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $2.3 billion. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 0.4 percent.

GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE

The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's newly issued Regulation G. The Company converted to a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. This change in the fiscal calendar has resulted in additional days of sales being included in the current period versus the same period in the prior year. Sales performance numbers included in this sales release have been calculated on a comparative 4-5-4 basis. The Company believes that adjusting for the additional days provides a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs. 4-5-4) from which to evaluate sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges 2002 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.

    Sales Reconciliation ($M)
                                                Dollar   % Change  % Change
                           June 2003 June 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales


    Number of Days GAAP           35        30
    GAAP Sales                $655.7    $563.5    92.2     16.4%     11.0%
    Less June 1, 2002 sales       --    ($18.9)
    Plus July 1-6, 2002 sales     --     $71.4
    Reported 4-5-4 sales      $655.7    $616.0    39.7      6.4%      1.9%
    4-5-4 Adjusted Days           35        35

    Sales Reconciliation ($M)
                                                Dollar   % Change  % Change
                            QTD 2003  QTD 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales

    Number of Days GAAP           63        61
    GAAP Sales              $1,104.5  $1,023.8    80.7      7.9%      3.1%
    Less May 1-4, 2002 sales      --    ($65.2)
    Plus July 1-6, 2002 sales     --     $71.4
    Reported 4-5-4 sales    $1,104.5  $1,030.0    74.5      7.2%      2.5%
    4-5-4 Adjusted Days           63        63

    Sales Reconciliation ($M)
                                                Dollar   % Change  % Change
                            YTD 2003  YTD 2002 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales

    Number of Days GAAP          155       150
    GAAP Sales              $2,448.1  $2,269.6   178.5      7.9%      2.1%
    Less Feb. 1, 2003         ($18.2)       --
    Less Feb. 1-2, 2002 sales     --    ($30.6)
    Plus July 1-6, 2002 sales     --     $71.4
    Reported 4-5-4 sales    $2,429.9  $2,310.4   119.5      5.2%      0.4%
    4-5-4 Adjusted Days          154       154
     future reporting dates

Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided in the table below.

     July Sales Release            Thurs., August 7, 2003
     Second Quarter Earnings       Thurs., August 21, 2003
     August Sales Release          Thurs., September 4, 2003
     October Sales Release         Thurs., October 9, 2003

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 143 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 89 full-line stores, 47 Nordstrom Racks, five Faconnable boutiques, one free-standing shoe store, and one clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 31 international Faconnable boutiques, primarily in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs.

    SALES SUMMARY
    (unaudited; $ in millions)

                      June       June    QTD        QTD     YTD       YTD
                      2003       2002    2003      2002     2003      2002

    Total sales      $655.7     $616.0 $1,104.5  $1,030.0 $2,429.9  $2,310.4
    Total sales
     percentage change 6.4%       7.4%     7.2%      6.7%     5.2%      4.1%

    Same-store sales
     percentage change
      Full-line stores 2.1%       1.8%     2.6%      1.3%     0.5%     (0.9%)
      Rack and
       other stores    0.7%      18.9%     1.6%     12.3%    (0.5%)     6.0%
      All stores       1.9%       3.2%     2.5%      2.4%     0.4%     (0.1%)

    Number of stores (as of July 5, 2003)
      Full-line          89         83
      Rack and other     54         53
      International
       Faconnable
       boutiques         31         23
      Total             174        159
    Gross square
     footage (as
     of July 5,
     2003)       18,628,000  17,455,000

Certain statements in this news release contain "forward-looking" information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involves risks and uncertainties, including anticipated results, store openings and distribution channels, planned capital expenditures, and trends in company operations. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or current expectations depending upon factors including, but not limited to, the company's ability to predict fashion trends, consumer apparel buying patterns, the company's ability to control costs, weather conditions, hazards of nature such as earthquakes and floods, trends in personal bankruptcies and bad debt write-offs, changes in interest rates, employee relations, the company's ability to continue its expansion plans, and the impact of economic and competitive market forces, including the impact of terrorist activity or the impact of a war on the company, its customers and the retail industry. Our SEC reports may contain other information on these and other factors that could affect our financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking information we may provide.

    INVESTOR CONTACT:
     Stephanie Allen
     Nordstrom, Inc.
     206-303-3262

    MEDIA CONTACT:
     Shasha Richardson
     Nordstrom, Inc.
     206-373-3038

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.

investors, Stephanie Allen, +1-206-303-3262, or press, Shasha
Richardson, +1-206-373-3038, both of Nordstrom, Inc.
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