Nordstrom April Same-Store Sales Increase 10 Percent
SEATTLE, May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/NORDLOGO )
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 $0.20 last year.
SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded April sales message, please dial 402-220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.
GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. The first quarter of 2003 includes one more day than the first quarter of 2004. The Company believes that adjusting for this difference provides a more comparable basis from which to evaluate sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges the quarter-to-date 2003 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.
% Change % Change
QTD QTD Dollar Total Comp
Sales Reconciliation ($M) 2003 2004 Increase Sales 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
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.
Investor Contact:
Stephanie Allen, 206-303-3262
Media Contact:
Deniz Anders, 206-373-3038
SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.
-0- 05/06/2004
/CONTACT: investors, Stephanie Allen, +1-206-303-3262, or media,
Deniz Anders, +1-206-373-3038, both for Nordstrom, Inc./
/Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/NORDLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840/
/Web site: http://www.nordstrom.com /
(JWN)
CO: Nordstrom, Inc.
ST: Washington
IN: REA
SU: SLS ERP
JP-MW
-- SFTH029 --
7099 05/06/2004 07:31 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com