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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 19, 2003

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

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        WASHINGTON                   0-6074                     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 earnings release dated May 19, 2003 relating to
      the Company's results of operations for the quarter ended
      May 3, 2003.























































ITEM 9. REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE AND ITEM 12. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND
FINANCIAL CONDITION

On May 19, 2003, Nordstrom, Inc. issued a press release announcing
its results of operations for the quarter ended May 3, 2003.  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/ Michael P. Dent
                                                -----------------------
                                                Michael P. Dent
                                                Divisional Vice President and
                                                Corporate Controller

Dated: May 19, 2003










































EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT
NUMBER         DESCRIPTION

99.1        Nordstrom earnings release dated May 19, 2003 relating to the
            Company's results of operations for the quarter ended May 3, 2003.







NORDSTROM                                                      Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release
- ------------------------
May 19, 2003
                                                              INVESTOR CONTACT:
                                                               Stephanie Allen
                                                               Nordstrom, Inc.
                                                                 (206)303-3262
                                                                 MEDIA CONTACT:
                                                             Shasha Richardson
                                                               Nordstrom, Inc.
                                                                 (206)373-3038

                NORDSTROM REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS
              --------------------------------------------

     SEATTLE  - May 20, 2003 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported net
earnings of $27.2 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the first quarter of
2003, which ended May 3, 2003.  For the same period last year, net loss and loss
per diluted share were $24.6 million and $0.18, respectively.  Excluding $55.0
million (net of tax) in non-recurring and impairment charges related to the
cumulative effect of an accounting change and the purchase of a minority
interest in Nordstrom.com and associated reintegration costs(1), first quarter
2002 net earnings and earnings per diluted share were $30.4 million and $0.22,
respectively.  Below plan sales and higher than expected markdowns drove the
10.8 percent decrease in earnings for the quarter, excluding non-recurring and
impairment charges.
     Net sales for the first quarter of 2003 increased 3.5 percent, to $1.3
billion, compared to sales of $1.2 billion in the same period last year.
First quarter 2003 same-store sales decreased 1.4 percent.
     "Despite the challenging retail environment, we are encouraged by our
relative sales performance this past quarter and are working diligently to
continue to build market share," commented President Blake Nordstrom.  "We
remain focused on our core initiatives of achieving sustained same-store
sales increases through service and merchandise, integrating new technology
and reducing expenses, as these are the key drivers of future performance
improvement."

EXPANSION UPDATE
- ----------------
     During the first quarter of 2003 Nordstrom opened one full-line
store, in Houston, TX.  For the remainder of the year ending January 31,
2004, the company plans to open three full-line stores, in Austin, Texas;
Richmond, Va.; and Wellington Green, Fla.  Two additional Rack stores are
also planned.  Gross square footage for the year is expected to increase
approximately 4.0 percent, from 18,428,000 to 19,089,000.

GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
- ----------------------
     The additional information we are providing in this section is
to Comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's newly issued
Regulation G.  The company converted to a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar at
the beginning of 2003.  Sales performance numbers included in this

press release have been calculated on a comparative 4-5-4 basis.  The
company believes that adjusting out these three additional days provides
a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs 4-5-4) from which to evaluate sales
performance in the first quarter.


SALES RECONCILIATION ($M)
- -------------------------
1Q03 1Q02 4-5-4 Gregorian Dollar Total Comp calendar calendar Increase Sales Sales -------- --------- -------- ----- ----- Number of Days Reported GAAP 92 89 Reported GAAP Sales $1,343.5 $1,245.8 $97.7 7.8% 2.7% Less Feb 1-2, 2002 sales ($31.0) Plus May 1-4, 2002 sales $65.6 Less Feb 1, 2003 sales ($18.2) ------- ------- Reported 4-5-4 sales $1,325.3 $1,280.4 $44.9 3.5% (1.4%) ------- ------- 4-5-4 Adjusted Days 91 91
2003 OUTLOOK - ------------ The Company is providing the following 2003 forecasts:
2nd Quarter 2003 Full-Year 2003 ---------------- -------------- Comp-store Sales Flat Flat Gross Profit (%) Flat Flat Selling, General and Administrative Expense (%) Slightly higher Flat Service Charge Income Flat Increase $6-10 million Interest Expense Flat Flat Effective Tax Rate 39% 39% Earnings per Share $0.35 - $0.40 $1.19 - $1.23 Square footage growth 4%
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION: - ---------------------------- Company management will be hosting a conference call and webcast to discuss first quarter results at 4:30pm (EDT) today. Access to the conference call is open to the press and general public in a listen only mode. To participate, please dial, 212-547-0138 ten minutes prior to the call (passcode: NORD). A telephone replay will be available for 48 hours beginning approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call by dialing 888-568-0719. Interested parties may also access the call over the Internet by visiting the Investor Relations section of the company's corporate website at http://about.nordstrom.com/aboutus/investor/webcasts.asp. An archived version of the webcast will be available at this location for 30 days. Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 143 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, Nordstrom today operates 89 full-line stores, 47 Nordstrom Racks, five U.S. Faconnable boutiques, one freestanding shoe store, and one clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 24 international Faconnable boutiques, primarily in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom Direct serves customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs. Certain statements in this news release 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. NORDSTROM, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS - 1st Quarter -------------------------------------------------- (unaudited; amounts in thousands, except per share data and percentages)
Quarter % of sales Quarter % of sales ended (except as ended (except as 5/3/03 indicated) 4/30/02 indicated) ------ --------- ------ --------- Net sales $1,343,539 100.0 $1,245,761 100.0 Cost of sales and related buying & occupancy (888,458) (66.1) (823,088) (66.1) -------- -------- Gross profit 455,081 33.9 422,673 33.9 Selling, general and administrative expenses (426,030) (31.7) (386,084) (31.0) -------- -------- Operating income 29,051 2.2 36,589 2.9 Interest expense, net (20,228) (1.5) (20,049) (1.6) Minority interest purchase - - (42,047) (3.4) Service charge income and other, net 35,632 2.6 33,304 2.7 -------- -------- Earnings before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting change 44,455 3.3 7,797 0.6 Income tax expense (17,300) (38.9)(2) (19,010) (243.8)(2) -------- -------- Earnings (loss) before cumulative effect of accounting change 27,155 2.0 (11,213) (0.9) Cumulative effect of accounting change (net of tax) - - (13,359) (1.1) -------- -------- Net earnings (loss) $ 27,155 2.0 $ (24,572) (2.0) -------- -------- Earnings (loss) per share Basic $ 0.20 $ (0.18) Diluted $ 0.20 $ (0.18)
ADDITIONAL DATA - ---------------- Average number of shares outstanding Basic 135,578 134,702 Diluted 135,798 134,702 (1) Net earnings excluding non-recurring and impairment charges is the sum of net loss of $24,572, the cumulative effect of accounting change of $13,359 (net of tax) and the minority interest purchase and reintegration costs of $41,657 (net of tax). (2) Percent of earnings before income taxes. For first quarter 2002, income tax expense as a percent of earnings before income taxes is higher than Nordstrom's effective tax rate as the Company did not recognize a tax benefit from certain costs related to the minority interest purchase.