A decade after Nordstrom Inc. first confirmed its interest in Jacksonville, the Seattle-based chain opened Friday morning at St. Johns Town Center.
The luxury, service-oriented fashion retailer might be a catalyst for other high-level stores, such as Saks and Neiman Marcus, to take a stronger look at Northeast Florida.
“We’re interested in what each other does,” said Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising and one of four top company executives at the opening last week.
“I can’t speak for Neiman and Saks, but I’d be willing to bet they’re paying attention,” he said.
Nordstrom was founded in 1901 as a shoe store and today it operates 284 stores in 37 states, including 118 full-line stores in the U.S. and one in Canada. It operates 162 Nordstrom Rack off-price stores, including one that opened Nov. 7 in The Markets at Town Center, near the new store. It also operates two Jeffrey boutiques and one clearance store.
The two-level, 124,000-square-foot Jacksonville Nordstrom includes the chain’s “best and newest” concepts and features, Nordstrom said, as well as the Ebar coffee shop near the front entrance and the full-service Bazille restaurant on the second floor.
For example, there are dressing rooms designed with some spaces that friends can share; a high-top table and seating area near the elevators with charging stations for digital devices; and a design high on natural light, wood finishes and a single-surface floor.
According to Nordstrom, merchandising the store to the Northeast Florida market and St. Johns Town Center’s regional consumer base is a continuing process. The company will learn from customers what they want.
Pete Nordstrom and his brothers, Blake and Erik, and their cousin, Jamie, attended the opening events and walked the store Friday talking to customers.
Jamie Nordstrom, whose title is president of stores, said the company had looked at Jacksonville “off and on for quite a while.”
“The timing had to be right and the location had to be right,” he said.
Nordstrom Direct President Erik Nordstrom recalled checking the market two to three times before.
The market is big enough, but their focus was on finding the best site. “A little more challenging part is the exact location,” he said.
St. Johns Town Center is at Butler Boulevard and the Interstate 295 East Beltway. It brought many retailers to Jacksonville that were new to the market, including Tiffany & Co., Apple, Microsoft, The Cheesecake Factory, The Capital Grille and now, Nordstrom.
St. Johns Town Center opened in 2005 and added its second phase in 2007. The recession of December 2007-June 2009 slowed retail decisions.
The second-phase expansion brought in more upscale retailers, like Tiffany, Louis Vuitton and Coach.
When Nordstrom saw the expansion phase, “it really made the timing right,” Erik Nordstrom said. Nordstrom anchors the third phase, which includes eight smaller retail stores in the new wing. Seven of the eight opened Wednesday.
Nordstrom is the first of the major luxury retailers to open in Jacksonville, although many smaller luxury stores are there.
Close neighbor Dillard’s opened a prototype store there in the first phase and has been the only two-story department retailer there since 2005.
Jamie Nordstrom said Nordstrom’s focus is not about changing the market.
“We’re looking to do what we do and do it well,” he said.
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466