As part of a campaign this year to "reinvent" itself after faltering sales in 1999, Nordstrom Inc., the Seattle-based upscale department store chain, said Monday it intends to build a new, larger store to replace its current facility at Fashion Place mall in Murray.
The new store will be part of a renovation and expansion planned for the mall by its owner, Maryland-based The Rouse Co., which also will include a new Dillard's department store. The owners are negotiating with a third, unnamed national retailer to take the current Dillard's space, and the current Nordstrom store also will be renovated and leased to other retailers.
Both Nordstrom and Dillard's will continue operating in their current locations as the new stores are built.
The new, two-level Nordstrom, comprising some 144,000 square feet, will have 34,000 more square feet of sales space than the current Nordstrom that opened in 1981. Nordstrom opened its first store in Utah at Crossroads Plaza downtown in 1980.
The new store, to be situated north of the existing store in the northwest section of the mall, is tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of next year. The current store is on the mall's west side.
Earlier this year, Nordstrom outlined a plan to "reinvent" itself as same-store sales, which exclude results from new and closed locations, fell in each of the last three quarters of fiscal 1999. Nordstrom said at the time that it was going to try stocking more popular fashions and better manage its inventory, particularly women's apparel.
At the same time, it began its largest-ever advertising campaign to coincide with the changes being made at its stores. The $40 million ad campaign, featuring the slogan "Reinvent Yourself," is scheduled to continue through this year and make consumers rethink a range of ideas, including home decor, "soccer moms" and the Nordstrom brand.
A spokeswoman for Nordstrom said the additional space in the new Fashion Place store will provide for a more spacious layout and a larger array of merchandise.
Nordstrom is also scheduled to open a new store in 2002 at the University Mall in Orem. It closed its Ogden store, located next to the Ogden City Mall, in 1998 and earlier this year donated the vacant, $2.3 million building to the city.
The company is currently expanding in several of the top 50 retail markets across the United States. Future store openings are planned in Charlotte, N.C.; Durham, N.C.; St. Louis; and Coral Gables, Fla.
Nordstrom currently has 106 stores in 23 states, including 72 full-line stores, 28 smaller Nordstrom Rack stores, three Faconnable boutiques, two free-standing shoe stores and a clearance store.
The company also sells merchandise online at nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs.
You can reach Max B. Knudson by e-mail at max@desnews.com