Home for the Holidays with Fanya Chandler, President of Nordstrom Stores

It's that joyful time of year again when holiday tunes start to play, and festive celebrations and traditions with friends and family are top of mind. While it may be the season of merriment, the holidays can also be one of the busiest times of the year.

Nordstrom is here to help you make the most of the holiday season with convenient services, festive experiences, stylish looks for any occasion, and inspiring gifts for everyone on your list. Our stores are a one-stop-shop for all things holiday, and our teams are ready to welcome you and make you feel at home. 
To hear more about the exciting offerings in store holiday season, we sat down with Fanya Chandler, our new president of Nordstrom stores to chat about what makes the holidays so special at Nordstrom—along with a few of her favorite shopping tips and traditions. 

Q. What are some of your favorite holiday memories at Nordstrom?
I've celebrated 30+ years of holidays with Nordstrom since joining the company in 1991. During that time, I've had the pleasure of supporting many areas of our business including stores, services, and styling teams. My career began on the sales floor in the kidswear department and some of my favorite early memories with Nordstrom involve helping children pick out special gifts for their parents and grandparents. 

I also enjoy the unveiling of the holiday décor in our stores. Our visual merchandising teams transform our stores overnight and treat our customers and employees to a festive in-store experience when they enter our stores the Friday after Thanksgiving. I'm always impressed with the creativity in the way our team uses greenery, along with bright lights and bold colors to make the store feel modern and relevant, yet traditional and inclusive at the same time. No matter how our customers choose to celebrate the holidays the festive décor is for everyone to enjoy. Even after three decades of seeing these unveils, it's still a thrill to see what our teams have come up with each season.

Q. Shopping at Nordstrom has become a tradition for many customers, what makes the experience so special? 
The customers are at the center of everything we do at Nordstrom, and our physical stores play an important role in how we connect with them.
I believe a visit to our stores shouldn't just be a transactional moment. We're here to provide a place of inspiration and discovery and a comforting environment that evokes nostalgia and a sense of familiarity. We want our stores to be a home away from home, where our customers feel a sense of joy and excitement the minute they walk through the doors—I love hearing stories about customers who make Nordstrom a part of their holiday tradition, shopping with friends and family at their local store every year. Our stores serve as a special gathering place, we often hear stories about generations of family members who have shopped with the same salesperson for over a decade.

We consistently see customers that just make a quick stop during their busy day to pick up a gift they've ordered online, and others who spend a full day in our store to shop with one of our stylists, enjoy a meal in one of our restaurants, and indulge with a beauty service. Whether someone has five minutes or five hours to spend with us, we are here to make every minute count. 
 

Q. What are some of the things you're excited about in stores this holiday season? 
One of my favorite things about Nordstrom is that you can truly find something for everyone on your list, at every price point. From holiday décor and stocking stuffers to luxe designer gifts, we bring it all together in one place. Our merchants work hard year-round to thoughtfully curate a selection of merchandise that feels relevant and exciting, and we're proud to be a partner to some of the best brands in the world that allow us to deliver inspiring products and customer favorites during the holidays like exclusive beauty gift sets, cozy footwear from Ugg, and so much more. 

Our teams are always working to create that special sense of discovery for our customers. This season, I'm especially excited about our partnerships with brands like Disney and Swarovski. We're celebrating Disney's 100th Anniversary with pop-up shops in several Nordstrom stores, offering collectables and unique gifts across all categories featuring the characters we all know and love. Customers can also visit our Swarovski@Nordstrom pop-up shops in select locations, which feature everything from sparkling jewelry to exclusive brand collaborations—perfect for gifting. 

I always look forward to seeing the holidays brought to life through the incredible events and activations our teams put together. From the interactive Holiday Breakfasts we host in stores across the country, to the Santa Parade and Snow Show we put on in our New York City Flagship—where we actually create a magical indoor snowfall twice a day, these are moments that create special memories for our customers and their families. 

Q. What are some of your shopping tips and tricks that every customer should know?
We're here to make shopping easy, convenient, and fun for everyone, with an inviting experience and seamless services. I love turning to our incredibly talented stylists and believe that the human connection our stylists provide can make such a positive difference in the shopping experience. Many of our customers love working with a Nordstrom stylist year-round and truly rely on them as a trusted resource.  Not only are our stylists able to help find the perfect look for any holiday occasion, but they also serve as gifting experts to help find the most thoughtful gifts for everyone on the list. Best of all, this is a free service at any Nordstrom store. 

While it's easy to think of our alterations team for tailoring needs, many of our customers don't realize that our alterations team can help personalize items and turn an ordinary gift into an extraordinary gift. Whether it's taking a family heirloom to be refurbished or personalizing a new throw blanket or sweater, our teams can create a personalized one-of-a-kind gift. Also, to help save time and deliver gifts with a special touch, Nordstrom stores also offer gift-wrapping—another task we can take off the list. 

Time flies during the holiday season and we know our customers need their purchases fast. Customers can use the Nordstrom app to filter items for same-day and next-day order pick up at their nearby Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, or Nordstrom Local location. If an item is unavailable in a nearby store, our teams work to deliver it as quickly as possible. Nordstrom always offers free shipping but this year, we're providing free two-day shipping on thousands of items in select areas. 
This is also a time of year when we want to show appreciation for and reward our customers for shopping with us. To thank our Nordy Club members, we're excited to offer 5x the points on all beauty purchases. Beauty is one of my favorite categories, not only to gift, but to treat myself to—and it is important to remember to treat yourself during this busy time of year.

Q. What are your plans for the holiday season, any favorite traditions?
I have just moved back to Seattle and it will be my first holiday season back in the Pacific Northwest in nine years. I'm excited to put up my Balsam Hill tree and decorate my new house, and most of all, I'm looking forward to celebrating with my kids who will be home from college.

I plan to spend a lot of time in our stores this holiday season, supporting our teams and connecting with our customers. Our teams work really hard to deliver great customer service year-round, and it's their focus, dedication, and passion that make these experiences possible.