Nordstrom Reports May Same-Store Sales Increase of 9.4 Percent

SEATTLE, June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $499.0 million for the four-week period ending May 29, 2004, an increase of 11.7 percent compared to sales of $446.8 million for the four-week period ending May 31, 2003. Same-store sales increased 9.4 percent.

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

During the month of May, same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic regions and all major merchandise categories.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $2.0 billion increased 15.3 percent compared to sales of $1.8 billion in 2003. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 12.2 percent.

SALES RECORDING

To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded May sales message, please dial 402-220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.

GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE

The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. The year-to-date for 2003 includes one more day than the year-to-date for 2004. The Company believes that adjusting for this difference provides a more comparable basis from which to evaluate sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges the year-to-date 2003 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.

                                                            YTD         YTD
     Sales Reconciliation ($M)                   YTD      % Change    % Change
                                                Dollar      Total       Comp
                       YTD 2003     YTD 2004   Increase     Sales       Sales
     Number of Days
      GAAP                  120          119

     GAAP Sales        $1,782.4     $2,034.5     $252.1      14.1%      11.0%

     Less Feb. 1, 2003
      sales              ($18.2)          --

     Reported 4-5-4
      sales            $1,764.2     $2,034.5     $270.3      15.3%      12.2%

     4-5-4 Adjusted
      Days                  119          119


    FUTURE REPORTING DATES

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

          June Sales Release            Thurs., July 8, 2004
          July Sales Release            Thurs., August 5, 2004
          Second Quarter Earnings       Thurs., August 19, 2004
          August Sales Release          Thurs., Sept. 2, 2004

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 149 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 93 full-line stores, 49 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               May          May         YTD           YTD
                                2004         2003        2004          2003
      (unaudited; $ in millions)
     Total sales              $499.0       $446.8    $2,034.5       $1,764.2
     Total sales
      percentage change         11.7%         8.4%       15.3%           4.6%
     Same-store sales
      percentage change          9.4%         3.3%       12.2%          (0.3%)

     Number of stores
       Full-line                  93           89
       Rack and other             56           54
       International
        Faconnable boutiques      31           31
       Total                     180          174

    Gross square footage     19,289,000    18,629,000


    Investor Contact:
     Stephanie Allen, 206-303-3262
    Media Contact:
     Deniz Anders, 206-373-3038

Certain statements in this news release might 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.

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.

CONTACT:
investors,
Stephanie Allen,
+1-206-303-3262, or
media,
Deniz Anders,
+1-206-373-3038,
both for Nordstrom, Inc.