Nordstrom April Same-Store Sales Increase 6.9 Percent

SEATTLE, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $531.7 million for the four-week period ending April 30, 2005, an increase of 8.1 percent compared to sales of $491.7 million for the four-week period ending May 1, 2004. Same-store sales increased 6.9 percent(1).

Preliminary first quarter sales of $1.7 billion increased 7.7 percent compared to 2004 first quarter sales of $1.5 billion. First quarter same-store sales increased 6.2 percent.

Sales Recording

To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded April sales message, please dial (402) 220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.

     SALES SUMMARY
     (unaudited;               Total Sales              Same-store Sales(1)
      $ in millions)   Fiscal     Fiscal   Percent    Total  Full-line  Rack
                        2005       2004   Increase   Retail   Stores   Stores

     April             $531.7     $491.7    8.1%       6.9%    4.7%    19.4%
     First quarter   $1,654.4   $1,535.5    7.7%       6.2%    4.6%    17.5%

     Number of stores
       Full-line           95         93
       Rack and other      56         56
       International
        Faconnable
        boutiques          31         31
       Total              182        180
     Gross square
      footage      19,550,000 19,289,000


    Future Reporting Dates

Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is currently planned as follows:

First Quarter Earnings Tues., May 17, 2005
Shareholder Meeting Tues., May 24, 2005
May Sales Release Thurs., June 2, 2005
June Sales Release Thurs., July 7, 2005
July Sales Release Thurs., Aug. 4, 2005

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 151 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 95 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 in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at www.nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs.

(1) Effective February 2005, Nordstrom Direct sales, which include catalog and Internet, are included in Total Retail same-store sales. To serve as a basis for comparison, as this was not the case last year, a presentation of 2004 monthly, quarterly and full-year same-store sales that includes Nordstrom Direct is available on the Investor Relations homepage of our website under Recent Reports.

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc. 05/05/2005
CONTACT: investors, Stephanie Allen, +1-206-303-3262, or media, Deniz Anders, +1-206-373-3038, both of Nordstrom, Inc.
Web site: www.nordstrom.com