“Nordstrom enters New York market with first Rack store - Marketwatch” plus 1 more

Nordstrom enters New York market with first Rack store - Marketwatch

Posted: 10 May 2010 10:34 AM PDT

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- While years of site searches have yet to yield a suitable full-priced location in New York for Nordstrom Inc., the upscale retailer is going ahead to enter the coveted market with its smaller -- and more profitable -- Rack chain.

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Next to shops from Best Buy and Forever 21 to DSW and Filene's Basement in Manhattan's busy Union Square district, the 32,000 square-foot basement store, scheduled to open Tuesday, is expected to become one of the company's top-selling stores, said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack.

"We have high expectations for the store," Thomas told reporters in a media preview, adding the retailer has a "long-term" lease for the location. "It's going to be one of our largest stores."

It'll be the company's 76th Rack, compared to 114 for the full-priced chain.

Seattle-based Nordstrom /quotes/comstock/13*!jwn/quotes/nls/jwn (JWN 43.25, +3.19, +7.96%) plans to open 10 to 15 Racks, which average about 35,000 square feet apiece, each year, compared to its goal of two to three for the full-priced store, each averaging 140,000 to 160,000 square feet. Rivals also are busy expanding, including Saks Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!sks/quotes/nls/sks (SKS 9.30, +0.75, +8.77%) with plans to open more of its discount Off 5th chain and Macy's Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!m/quotes/nls/m (M 23.97, +2.03, +9.25%) with the opening of its first Bloomingdale's outlet scheduled for later this year.

The discount units have been one of the industry's growth areas as shoppers become even more budget conscious in the recession. They help high-end retailers garner additional sales and profits by attracting different shoppers, acting as a channel to clear out merchandise from their full-priced locations and creating opportunities for stores to introduce pieces just for discount shoppers, analysts said.

They also are often more profitable, because the stores don't have to pay for the same kind of intensive service and labor costs as well as the higher lease rates that often go with full-priced stores, they said.

"Rack is an important part of our business," company President Blake Nordstrom said, adding the Rack generates both more profit and more sales per square foot than its sister chain. "It's a great vehicle to efficiently and quickly move our goods. This particular niche of business is expanding in the industry."

The Union Square opening also comes at a time when Nordstrom is outperforming its industry counterparts: The company last week reported a better-than-expected 7.5% increase in April same-store sales, while a majority of retailers came in short of forecasts for the month. See full story on April sales.

"Trends overall are better," CEO Nordstrom said.

Meanwhile, Nordstrom said the company continues to be on the hunt for a full-priced location in the city, even though he said an ideal one still hasn't come along. The one closest to Manhattan is on Long Island.

/quotes/comstock/13*!jwn/quotes/nls/jwn JWN 43.25, +3.19, +7.96%
/quotes/comstock/13*!sks/quotes/nls/sks SKS 9.30, +0.75, +8.77%
/quotes/comstock/13*!dds/quotes/nls/dds DDS 26.81, +3.62, +15.61%

To accommodate the expected crowd for the store, the location features the company's first centrally located automatic queuing checkout. Its boxed-shoe presentation is grouped by sizes instead of by brands while signs showcase clothing by categories such as contemporary styles.

The Rack location, which doesn't stock kids' clothing and shoes, has a higher percentage for women's clothing and shoes alongside suits and other clothing for men, Thomas said.

Merchandise is expected to turn over quickly as the company plans to make deliveries to the store five days a week.

Brands from Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry to Hugo Boss and Cole Haan are featured with prices about 50% to 60% off than the original price tags from the full-priced stores.

Thomas said he doesn't expect the Rack to steal away business from the full-priced stores, adding Nordstrom's top customers tend to shop across its full-priced, Rack and online channels. "We don't see cannibalization," he said.

Outpacing a broadly higher market, shares of Nordstrom rose more than 7.2% to $42.94 in afternoon trading.

Andria Cheng is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.

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Bucknell's Haiti Relief Fund raises more than $40,000 - Bucknell University

Posted: 10 May 2010 10:48 AM PDT

By Kathryn Kopchik

LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University's Haiti Relief Fund has raised more than $40,000 in relief money and supplies going directly to Haitian charitable organizations. || Related Bucknell Magazine story

"Many students, student organizations and classes have worked diligently this semester to raise money and collect needed items to send to Haiti," said Poppy Goforth, director of community service at Bucknell.

"The money is being given to several different relief organizations, including the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, Partners in Health, Mercy Corps, Catholic Charities, the AFYA Foundation and the Crosby Fund for Haitian Education."

Specific fund-raising activities to date:

The College of Engineering students, faculty and staff raised $1,531.50 during the college's annual National Engineers Week celebration for American Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts.
Chi Phi fraternity collected more than $1,500 for Mercy Corps through online donations, and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity collected $300 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund from membership and through phone calls to alumni and family. The Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council donated $2,000 to Partners in Health.

The Class of 2013 collected more than $150 at First Night, and the Bison Chips a cappella group donated a portion of their ticket sales from the ChipFest concert.

The men's and women's track teams collected donations at their spring meets for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, and collections at religious services totaled $1,910.

The Black Student Union, Office of Community Service and International Student Services sponsored a Halos for Haiti benefit dinner, which raised more than $7,000. Half of the proceeds will be donated to Partners in Health and half will be entrusted to the University for future relief efforts and trips to Haiti.

More than 3,000 items donated
In addition to the money raised for the Haiti Relief Fund, two Management 101 companies worked with the AFYA Foundation on the "Heart to Heart" Haiti project to collect and donated needed items.

"The student-led companies worked to fill and ship a storage container with more than 3,000 items, including tents, sleeping bags, kids' clothing, toys and accessories, school supplies, kitchen supplies and medical materials including crutches and braces and first-aid supplies," Goforth said. "The grand total monetary value was $26,701."

Haiti relief efforts are ongoing with support for immediate needs as well as a sustainable effort to help the Haitian people on a long-term basis. Three task forces have been created to address the short-term crisis response, educational information and programming and sustainable long-term approaches.

Contact: Division of Communications

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Kids Clothing

Tuesday, May 11, 2010