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Nordstrom Reports September Same-Store Sales Increase Of 7.7%

SEATTLE, Oct 9, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $563.7 million for the five-week period ending October 4, 2003, an increase of 11.4 percent compared to sales of $505.9 million for the five-week period ending October 5, 2002. Same-store sales increased 7.7 percent.

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

September same-store sales in full-line stores increased in all geographic regions and all major merchandise divisions.

Preliminary quarter-to-date sales of $966.2 million increased 11.4 percent compared to quarter-to-date 2002 sales of $867.6 million. Quarter-to-date same-store sales increased 5.8 percent.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $4.1 billion increased 7.2 percent compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $3.8 billion. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 2.6 percent.

Sales Recording

To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded September 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.

                                                   Dollar  % Change  % Change
                               Sept.     Sept.    Increase/    Total     Comp
    Sales Reconciliation ($M)  2003      2002     (Decrease)   Sales     Sales
     Number of Days GAAP         35        30
              GAAP Sales     $563.7    $426.4    $137.3      32.2%     27.2%
       Plus October 1-5,
              2002 sales                $79.5
    Reported 4-5-4 sales     $563.7    $505.9     $57.8      11.4%      7.7%
     4-5-4 Adjusted Days         35        35
                                                           % Change  % Change
                                QTD      QTD       Dollar    Total     Comp
    Sales Reconciliation ($M)  2003      2002     Increase   Sales     Sales
     Number of Days GAAP         63        61
              GAAP Sales     $966.2    $861.1    $105.1      12.2%      6.0%
          Less Aug. 1-3,
              2002 sales       --      ($73.0)
          Plus Oct. 1-5,
              2002 sales       --       $79.5
    Reported 4-5-4 sales     $966.2    $867.6     $98.6      11.4%      5.8%
     4-5-4 Adjusted Days         63        63

                                                           % Change  % Change
                                 YTD      YTD     Dollar      Total     Comp
    Sales Reconciliation ($M)   2003      2002   Increase     Sales     Sales
     Number of Days GAAP        246       242
              GAAP Sales   $4,104.9  $3,762.4    $342.5       9.1%      3.7%
       Less Feb. 1, 2003     ($18.2)     --
          Less Feb. 1-2,
              2002 sales       --      ($30.4)
          Plus Oct. 1-5,
              2002 sales       --       $79.5
                Reported
             4-5-4 sales   $4,086.7  $3,811.5    $275.2       7.2%      2.6%
     4-5-4 Adjusted Days        245       245

Future Reporting Dates

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

    October Sales Release               Thurs., November 6, 2003
    Third Quarter Earnings              Thurs., November 20, 2003
    November Sales Release              Thurs., December 4, 2003
    December Sales Release              Thurs., January 8, 2004

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 147 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 91 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
     (unaudited;       Sept.      Sept.     QTD      QTD       QTD      QTD
      $ in millions)    2003       2002    2003     2002      2003     2002

    Total sales       $563.7     $505.9  $966.2   $867.6  $4,086.7  $3,811.5
    Total sales
     percentage
     change            11.4%       6.6%   11.4%     5.4%      7.2%      5.0%
    Same-store
     sales
     percentage
     change             7.7%       1.7%    5.8%     1.0%      2.6%      0.5%

    Number of stores
     (as of October 4, 2003)

    Full-line             91         86
    Rack and other        56         55
    International
     Faconnable
     boutiques            31         23
    Total                178        164
    Gross square
     footage      19,011,000 18,047,000

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.

CONTACT: investor, Stephanie Allen, +1-206-303-3262, or media, Shasha Richardson, +1-206-373-3038, both of Nordstrom, Inc.

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.

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