Nordstrom closing all Canadian stores, 2,500 jobs cut


The Vancouver Nordstrom department store and Langley Nordstrom Rack are included in the 13 closures. All of the company’s 2,500 staff in Canada will lose their jobs.

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Nordstrom Inc. is shuttering its Canadian stores, including Nordstrom in downtown Vancouver and Nordstrom Rack in Langley amid declining sales.

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The Seattle-based retailer said it will close its six Nordstrom and seven Nordstrom Rack stores by late June. Its online store will cease operations today, and all of its 2,500 staff in Canada will lose their jobs.

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Retail analyst Craig Patterson said Nordstrom’s retreat, eight years after the departure of big-box retailer Target, is a “huge black eye” for Canada.

“This looks bad for Canada,” he said. “In terms of losing a major American retailer of this strength, in the only international market it has, it really is not the best perception the world would have of Canada.”

Chief executive Erik Nordstrom said the closures were the result of regular reviews the company conducts that challenged its longtime plans “to build and sustain a long-term business” in Canada.

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“Despite our best efforts, we do not see a realistic path to profitability for the Canadian business,” he said in a statement. “This decision will simplify our structure, intensify focus on our growth and profitability goals and position us to create greater value for our shareholders.”

More than 960 employees cheer as costumers enter the store during Nordstrom’s Grand Opening at Pacific Centre in Vancouver on Sept. 18, 2015. Photo by Carmine Marinelli.
More than 960 employees cheer as costumers enter the store during Nordstrom’s Grand Opening at Pacific Centre in Vancouver on Sept. 18, 2015. Photo by Carmine Marinelli. Photo by carmine marinellli /PNG

Patterson said he began hearing murmurs of Nordstrom’s financial struggles late last year from vendors who were told to postpone merchandise orders.

“I knew Nordstrom wasn’t doing well in Canada, but I didn’t think they would pull the plug on the operations,” he said. “It didn’t seem like Nordstrom gave Canada a full effort in terms of the focus of its stores.”

Retail consultant David Ian Gray of DIG360 said he also didn’t expect to see an across-the-board retreat for the department store chain.

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The Vancouver store, which opened to great fanfare in 2015, was a top performer through 2019, and while other Canadian stores have also struggled, they were not the worst in the network overall, he said.

“We often see a US-based headquartered retail chain cut Canada before the optics of cutting domestic U.S. operations,” said Gray. “For some, Canada is seen as a branch sales outfit as opposed to a critical region they align with.”

The closure will be devastating for employees as well as vendors, and leaves a massive three-storey hole at CF Pacific Centre and in downtown Vancouver.

“We’re shocked and saddened at the news of Nordstrom closing all of their Canadian locations, and empathize with Vancouver locals who will lose their jobs as a result of this,” said Jane Talbot, interim president and CEO of business improvement association Downtown Van.

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“We were thrilled when they opened at Pacific Centre in 2015 and revitalized an anchor location within the downtown core,” she says. “Nordstrom was a welcomed addition to our district, and we hope another business will take over the beautiful space soon.”

The 230,000-square-foot retail space is likely too big for one entity but Nordstrom’s departure might be an opportunity for Montreal-based La Maison Simon and other smaller retailers, said Patterson and Gray.

It could also provide an unexpected breather for Hudson Bay Company, which is struggling and has recently closed some Canadian stores.

Nordstrom opened its first Canadian store in Calgary at CF Chinook Centre in September 2014. It opened at CF Pacific Centre in September 2015, while Nordstrom Rack opened at Willowbrook mall in Langley in September 2020.

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Nordstrom’s wind down is being completed through an order obtained by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

It intends to seek court approval later this month for a liquidation sale, which would begin shortly after.

Nordstrom Canada gift cards will continue to be honoured to the end of the liquidation period, though none would be made available for purchase after Thursday.

Returns and exchanges will be permitted until March 17 at which point all sales and returns will be considered final.

The Canadian wind-down came as Nordstrom released its fourth quarter results, which included net earnings of US$119 million in the period ended Jan. 28. That compared with net earnings of US$200 million during the same period the year before.

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As a result of the Canadian closures, Nordstrom expected to record US$300 to US$350 million in pre-tax charges in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

The wind-down is expected to result in a roughly US$400 million decline in net sales.

— with files from Canadian Press and Derrrick Penner

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