Who Owns Nordstrom?

John W. Nordstrom, a Swedish immigrant who made money in the Alaska Gold Rush, and shoemaker Carl F. Wallin opened a shoe store called Wallin and Nordstrom in Seattle in 1901. The store was profitable from its first year, and John's son Everett Nordstrom eventually bought out Wallin's share in 1929. By 1960, the family business had grown to become the largest independent shoe chain in the United States.

In 1963, Nordstrom acquired Best's Apparel, a Seattle clothing retailer, and rebranded as Nordstrom Best, then simply Nordstrom, expanding from shoes into full-line fashion retail. The company went public in 1971 and was listed on the Nasdaq before moving to the NYSE.

Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Nordstrom expanded nationally, developing a reputation for extraordinary customer service -- particularly in its shoe department -- that became the foundation of its brand identity. The customer service culture at Nordstrom became a business school case study cited in discussions of service differentiation.

Nordstrom Rack, the off-price format, opened its first standalone store in 1975 in Seattle, initially to clear overstocked and returned merchandise. It has since grown into a standalone retail chain and e-commerce platform.

In 2020, the Nordstrom family made an unsuccessful attempt to take the company private. They succeeded in 2025 with the $6.25 billion deal backed by El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican department store operator that had held approximately 9.9% of Nordstrom shares since 2017.