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Nordstrom Reports August Sales

SEATTLE, Sept. 4, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $558 million for the four-week period ended August 30, 2008, a decrease of 4.2 percent compared to sales of $582 million for the four-week period ended September 1, 2007. Same-store sales decreased 7.9 percent.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $4.72 billion decreased 4.1 percent compared to sales of $4.93 billion for the same period in 2007. Year-to-date same-store sales decreased 6.4 percent.

Sales Recording

To hear Nordstrom's pre-recorded August sales message, please dial 800-891-8250 or 402-220-6036. This recording will be available for one week.



    AUGUST SALES RESULTS
    (unaudited; $ in millions)

                                 Total Sales             Same-store Sales(2)

                                 -----------             ----------------
                                              Percent
                          Fiscal    Fiscal   Increase/        Full-line  Rack
                           2008     2007(1) (Decrease)  Total  Stores   Stores

                        ------------------------------  ----------------------
    August                 $558       $582    (4.2%)    (7.9%) (12.5%)   7.6%

    Year-to-date         $4,724     $4,926    (4.1%)    (6.4%)  (9.4%)   5.7%


    Number of stores
     as of August
        Full-line           105         98
        Rack and other       54         55
        Faconnable
         boutiques(3)         -          4
                            ---        ---
      Total                 159        157
                            ===        ===
    Gross square
     footage         21,139,000 20,091,000

    (1) Total sales results for fiscal 2007 include sales from the company's
        international and domestic Faconnable boutiques.
    (2) Same-store sales results exclude sales from Faconnable.
    (3) On August 31, 2007, Nordstrom completed the sale of its international
        and wholesale Faconnable business.  Nordstrom completed the sale of
        its four U.S. Faconnable boutiques on October 31, 2007.


    Expansion Update

Nordstrom plans to open two full-line stores in the upcoming fiscal month at The Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on September 5, 2008, and at Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis, Ind., on September 19, 2008. On October 3, 2008, Nordstrom plans to relocate and open a new full-line store at the Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Wash.

The company also plans to open four new Rack stores in the upcoming fiscal month at City Center Shopping Center in White Plains, N.Y., the Laguna Hills Mall in Laguna Hills, Calif., the Springbrook Prairie Pavilion in Naperville, Ill., and Legacy Village Shopping Center in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Future Reporting Dates

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

    September Sales Release              Wed., October 8, 2008
    October Sales Release                Thurs., November 6, 2008
    Third Quarter Earnings Release       Thurs., November 13, 2008
    November Sales Release               Thurs., December 4, 2008

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 159 stores located in 28 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 105 full-line stores, 50 Nordstrom Racks, two Jeffrey boutiques, and two clearance stores. In addition, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com and through its catalogs. Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.

Certain statements in this news release contain or may suggest "forward-looking" information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), including the company's expected monthly results and anticipated store openings. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or current expectations depending upon factors including, but not limited to the impact of economic and market conditions and the resultant impact on consumer spending patterns, the company's ability to respond to the business environment and fashion trends, the competitive pricing environment within the retail sector, effective inventory management, the effectiveness of planned advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns, the company's compliance with applicable banking and related laws and regulations impacting the company's ability to extend credit to its customers, the company's ability to safeguard its brand and reputation, efficient and proper allocation of the company's capital resources, trends in personal bankruptcies and bad debt write-offs, changes in interest rates, the company's ability to control costs, risks related to fluctuations in world currencies, weather conditions and hazards of nature that affect consumer traffic and consumers' purchasing patterns, and the timing and amounts of share repurchases by the company. For additional information regarding these and other risk factors, please refer to the company's SEC reports, including its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.

INVESTOR CONTACT: Chris Holloway
Nordstrom, Inc.
(206) 303-3290

MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Boyd
Nordstrom, Inc.
(206) 373-3038

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

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.
09/04/2008
CONTACT: Investors, Chris Holloway, +1-206-303-3290, or Media, Michael
Boyd, +1-206-373-3038, both of Nordstrom, Inc.
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Web site: http://www.nordstrom.com