Biography
A fourth generation member of the Nordstrom family, Pete Nordstrom has served as executive vice president of Nordstrom Inc. since 2000 and as president of the store’s merchandising department since 2006, before being appointed as co-president in 2015. A leading fashion retailer, Nordstrom operates in 310 locations within the US and Canada, running 119 full-line branches and 183 Nordstrom Racks.
Officially joining the company in 1978 at the age of 16, Pete worked within the shoe departments as a sales assistant during summer breaks from the University of Washington where he obtained a degree in English. Joining the company full time at the age of 21, Pete steadily worked his way upward and in 1995 was promoted to his first office of co-president of the company. Prior to being appointed as president of the merchandising department, Pete also held the position of director of merchandising strategy and executive vice president of the full line stores.
During his time serving at the helm of the company, Pete has overseen several strategic acquisitions that have added to Nordstrom’s market prominence within the fashion industry. In 2005, the company acquired majority stake holdings in luxury fashion boutique Jeffrey’s, with locations in Atlanta and New York, and in 2011 extended their digital strategy through the acquisition of Hautelook.com, a members only ‘limited-time’ sales event offering discounts of up to 75 percent on fashion labels. The group opened a men’s store in Manhattan in April 2018 and launched a women’s location across the street in the fall of 2019. It was an early adapter of experiential retail, taking an omnichannel approach to its stores.