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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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                                   FORM 8-K

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                                CURRENT REPORT
                    PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                     THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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      DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED) May 6, 2004

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                                NORDSTROM, INC.
               (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

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        WASHINGTON                 001-15059                     91-0515058

(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION    (COMMISSION FILE           (I.R.S. EMPLOYER
      OF INCORPORATION)              NUMBER)             IDENTIFICATION NO.)



             1617 SIXTH AVENUE, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON     98101
            (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)   (ZIP CODE)


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      REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE  (206) 628-2111

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                              INAPPLICABLE
         (FORMER NAME OR FORMER ADDRESS IF CHANGED SINCE LAST REPORT)

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ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PROFORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS

(C) EXHIBITS

99.1  Nordstrom April 2004 Preliminary Sales Release, dated May 6, 2004.























































ITEM 12. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

On May 6, 2004, Nordstrom, Inc. issued a press release announcing
its preliminary April 2004 sales and an update to first quarter earnings per
share guidance.  A copy of this press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1.





















































                                SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                           NORDSTROM, INC.



                                           By:  /s/ Peter F. Collins
                                                -----------------------
                                                Peter F. Collins
                                                Divisional Vice President and
                                                Corporate Controller

Dated: May 6, 2004










































EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT
NUMBER         DESCRIPTION

99.1          Nordstrom April 2004 Preliminary Sales Release, dated
              May 6, 2004.






                                                              Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
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May 6, 2004

           NORDSTROM APRIL SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE 10.0% PERCENT
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     SEATTLE - May 6, 2004 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported
preliminary sales of $491.7 million for the four-week period ending May 1,
2004, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to sales of $437.5 million for the
four-week period ending May 3, 2003.  Same-store sales increased 10.0 percent.

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

     Preliminary quarter-to-date sales of $1.5 billion increased 16.6 percent
compared to sales of $1.3 billion in 2003.  Quarter-to-date same-store sales
increased 13.2 percent.

FIRST QUARTER GUIDANCE
     Nordstrom is raising its first quarter earnings expectations to reflect
strong sales and gross profit performance.  The company now expects earnings
to exceed $0.40 per diluted share for the quarter compared to $0.20 last year.

SALES RECORDING
     To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded April 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 first quarter of 2003
includes one more day than the first quarter of 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
quarter-to-date 2003 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.

Dollar % Change % Change Sales Reconciliation ($M) QTD 2003 QTD 2004 Increase Total Sales Comp Sales -------- -------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Number of Days GAAP 92 91 GAAP Sales $1,335.5 $1,535.4 $199.9 15.0% 11.5% Less Feb. 1, 2003 sales ($18.2) -- -------- -------- Reported 4-5-4 sales $1,317.3 $1,535.4 $218.1 16.6% 13.2% ========= ========= 4-5-4 Adjusted Days 91 91
FUTURE REPORTING DATES Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided in the table below. First Quarter Earnings Thurs., May 20, 2004 Annual Meeting Tues., May 25, 2004 May Sales Release Thurs., June 3, 2004 June Sales Release Thurs., July 8, 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 Apr. Apr. QTD QTD (unaudited; $ in millions) 2004 2003 2004 2003 ------ ------ ------ ------ Total sales $491.7 $437.5 $1,535.4 $1,317.3 Total sales percentage change 12.4% 5.2% 16.6% 3.4% Same-store sales percentage change 10.0% (0.4%) 13.2% (1.5%) Number of stores (as of May 1, 2004) Full-line 93 89 Rack and other 56 54 International Faconnable boutiques 31 24 --- --- Total 180 167 Gross square footage 19,289,000 18,613,000
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. ###