Nordstrom Reports November Same-Store Sales Increase of 7.4%

SEATTLE, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $631.9 million for the four-week period ending November 29, 2003, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to sales of $573.6 million for the four-week period ending November 30, 2002. Same-store sales increased 7.4 percent.

November same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic regions and all merchandise categories except Women's Bridge and Special Sizes.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $5.2 billion increased 7.5 percent compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $4.8 billion. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 3.2 percent.

Sales Recording

To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded November 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. This change in the fiscal calendar has resulted in differences in the number of days 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 these differences 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.

                                                          % Change  % Change
    Sales                    Nov.       Nov.     Dollar      Total      Comp
     Reconciliation ($M)     2003       2002   Increase      Sales     Sales
        Number of
         Days GAAP             28         30
        GAAP Sales         $631.9     $616.8      $15.1       2.4%    (0.1%)
        Less Nov. 1-2,
         2002 sales                  ($43.2)
        Reported 4-5-4
         sales             $631.9     $573.6      $58.3      10.2%      7.4%
        4-5-4 Adjusted
         Days                  28         28
                                                          % Change  % Change
    Sales                     YTD        YTD     Dollar      Total      Comp
     Reconciliation ($M)     2003       2002   Increase      Sales     Sales
        Number of
         Days GAAP            302        303
        GAAP Sales       $5,191.2   $4,841.3     $349.9       7.2%      2.5%
        Less Feb. 1,
         2003             ($18.2)         --
        Less Feb. 1-2,
         2002 sales            --    ($30.4)
        Reported 4-5-4
         sales           $5,173.0   $4,810.9     $362.1       7.5%      3.2%
        4-5-4 Adjusted
         Days                 301        301


    Future Reporting Dates

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

          December Sales Release               Thurs., January 8, 2004
          January Sales Release                Thurs., February 5, 2004
          Fourth Quarter Earnings Release      Thurs., February 19, 2004
          February Sales Release               Thurs., March 4, 2004

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 148 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 92 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                   Nov.        Nov.         YTD        YTD
    (unaudited; $ in millions)      2003        2002        2003       2002

    Total sales                   $631.9      $573.6    $5,173.0   $4,810.9
    Total sales percentage
     change                        10.2%        4.3%        7.5%       5.6%
    Same-store sales percentage
     change                         7.4%      (1.0%)        3.2%       1.0%

    Number of stores (as of November 29, 2003)
        Full-line                     92          88
        Rack and other                56          55
        International
         Faconnable boutiques         31          23
        Total                        179         166
    Gross square footage      19,138,000  18,428,000


     Investor Contact:   Stephanie Allen, 206-303-3262
     Media Contact:      Shasha Richardson, 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, Shasha Richardson, +1-206-373-3038, both of Nordstrom