Nordstorm entering the market?

[Lexy]

The news is interesting to say the least. Is a Nordstrom headed to the Williamson County area? It appears so. I personally, would have rather seen a Neiman Marcus in the area. NM offers a better mix of goods and a certain feel to them that gives one a feeling of being expensive. A Nordstrom is just a glorified Dillards and really is nothing to get too excited about IMO. I guess it is a good thing nonetheless. But, this begs a question. Will there be any room for a downtown store (of some type) when the population increases in the core in coming years?? I would love to have a Nordstrom "type" store in the core in the future. But if Cool Springs keeps swallowing up businesses from Nashville, will there ever be a chance to get something going? We need a mayor with a backbone and an urgency to stand up against the flight of business' to Williamson County. Please don't take this as a bah on Williamson County. I appreciate the presence of such a great community in the area, but at some point somebody has got to stand up to the developments occuring there.

[cheeriokid61]

Where would it go? The mall? or would it be its own little building?

[Lexy]

Where would it go? The mall? or would it be its own little building?

In a development next to Nissan's site. I read yesterday that talks aobut a high end retailer in that area have happened. I really feel that the time is now for the move to happen.

Notice in the orginal post that I said "appears" to be coming. I did not say it was. Just some food for thought.

[StevenRocks]

Nordstrom is just a glorified Dillards

It may not seem impressive from the outset, but Nordstrom's service and merchandise selection is first-rate. It's not Neiman-Marcus, but Neiman-Marcus appeals to a narrower demographic and has to have a sizable upscale market to survive. Nordstrom offers many of the same amenities while appealing to a larger audience.

[ATLBrain]

Needless Markup has been rumored for Green Hills for a couple of years now. Nordy's would be fitting for Williamson.

[Lexy]

^ LOL!! Needless Markup. That is good man.

[it's just dave]

Nordstrom's will be a benchmark for the area no matter where it lands. Their product lines are first rate and will blow Dillards away when the upscale shoppers pull out their wallets. And, as Steven said, the service is impeccable. I consider a Nordies location to illustrate the "we have arrived" designation in the same light as NM. They carry the same things for the most part. Nordstrom's been looking at this market for a long time, according to the e-mail I got from them. They just needed the "right place." As hard as it is to say, Cool Springs is the right place.

Perhaps the management of Green Hills in their quest for an high-end store will land Neiman-Marcus. It seems the sensible order.

As far as downtown, I'd rather see an urban Target first. Folks will probably run out of toilet paper before they need Ralph Purple Label and Ferragamos. Downtown needs to aim toward services and things people need on a daily basis first to keep them downtown...then the other retailers will follow.

[rocket9561]

I see Neiman Marcus entering Green Hills if anywhere in Nashville and that will still probably be years before a major department store opens downtown. I could see a Target store going into West End, however. They've been doing a rapid expansion in the Nashville market lately.

[Lady Celeste]

Nordy's is coming, Nordy's is coming. Let's hope the rumor is true. You guys will love Nordstrom.

It may not seem impressive from the outset, but Nordstrom's service and merchandise selection is first-rate. It's not Neiman-Marcus, but Neiman-Marcus appeals to a narrower demographic and has to have a sizable upscale market to survive. Nordstrom offers many of the same amenities while appealing to a larger audience.

I agree with StevenRocks here. Steven you soooooooo rock, lol.

Here in Atlanta, Nordstrom is just a slight step "down" from Bloomingdale's. I find the service excellent....especially at the Perimeter Mall location. The same St John's clothing you can get at Nordstom is what you find at Neiman Marcus or the St John's boutique. Nordstrom is no where near a glorified Dillards. Maybe it's the Dillards here in Atlanta but I put Dillards, Parisians and some Macy's on the same level. Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor (there is only one here in Atlanta now) fills their own niche and the toppers are Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales.

While I love the Neiman's at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, I find myself shopping at Nordstrom more....plus if you guys ever want a great cup of coffee, the coffeeshop at Nordstrom is great. Get a cup of the Blackforest Mocha. It will blow your socks off. I will say this though, Neiman's does have a greater selection of Hermes than any store other than the Hermes boutique. Overall I would say that a Nordstrom coming to any city is a great thing. It will encourage other high end stores to follow and once they are there, it will keep their prices relatively reasonable.

BTW, why do people call Neiman Marcus "needless markup" when you can;t find the same things at Neiman's that you can find at any other lower level store.

[StevenRocks]

Nordy's is coming, Nordy's is coming. Let's hope the rumor is true. You guys will love Nordstrom.

I agree with StevenRocks here. Steven you soooooooo rock, lol.

A lady after my own heart

BTW, why do people call Neiman Marcus "needless markup" when you can;t find the same things at Neiman's that you can find at any other lower level store.

I think it has a lot to do with lack of retail education. It sounds strange, I know, but stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman scare people because they're not aware of the brands and/or quality and just focus on the prices.

Truth is, usually the workmanship and uniqeness of products at NM et al makes a case for the stuff being so expensive. There are some ripoffs there, but even Wal-Mart caries stuff that's not worth the money you pay for it.

And item for item, on stuff you can find in other stores, Neiman's is competitive on price. A bottle of cologne that's $50.00 at Macy's is the same price at NM, but the service is so much better.

[Lexy]

Nordstrom's will be a benchmark for the area no matter where it lands. Their product lines are first rate and will blow Dillards away when the upscale shoppers pull out their wallets. And, as Steven said, the service is impeccable. I consider a Nordies location to illustrate the "we have arrived" designation in the same light as NM. They carry the same things for the most part. Nordstrom's been looking at this market for a long time, according to the e-mail I got from them. They just needed the "right place." As hard as it is to say, Cool Springs is the right place.

Perhaps the management of Green Hills in their quest for an high-end store will land Neiman-Marcus. It seems the sensible order.

As far as downtown, I'd rather see an urban Target first. Folks will probably run out of toilet paper before they need Ralph Purple Label and Ferragamos. Downtown needs to aim toward services and things people need on a daily basis first to keep them downtown...then the other retailers will follow.

Dave, ironic you mention the Target. I was actually talking with Casey earlier about the urban Target in DT Minneapolis this afternoon. I too would love to see something like that in DT Nashville.

[smeagolsfree]

I think with the number of national type HQ'S coming into the Nashville area, we will continue to see more and more of the higher end retailers coming into the area. I think Green Hills and Cool Springs will benifit the most, but I would not rule out the downtown area with the number of higher end condos going in there. There is a lot of real-estate that can be developed in the downtown area. Remember the Gulch probably has 40 or 50 total acres of undeveloped or redevelopment land. SOBRO has a number of sites an upscale retail complex could go in. Who knows if the CC is approved, an upscale develpment could be incorporated with that. Then there is the East Bank with more than 200 acres of parking lots and industrial sites that will eventually go somewhere else because they are sitting on a gold mine.

[Kyle]

I'd like to see a Nordstrom in the market, mainly because there are enough rich folks to support one by now.

[TennBear]

I don't know why some of you think that Nordstrom's is below Bloomies. They sell almost the same product. Bloomies has more in the way of furniture and housewares. Nordstrom's is more soft goods, but when it comes to shoes. Nordstrom's blows Neiman's, Bloomies, Saks, etc. out of the water. Their men's shoe department is larger than any of those others women's shoe departments. For the women that have hard to find sizes, Nordstroms is heaven. As far as Lord and Taylor, it is a May Co. store. Enough said, May Co.=Junk. Nashville will be glad to get rid of Hecht's and get Macy's. Lord and Taylor is Hecht's with less merch.

[memphian]

Well since we seem to be speaking a language I know.... (LOL)

Bloomingdale's is great. I love that store. If we had one here - I'd shop nowhere else.

Nordstrom is cool - my only gripe is that outside of the Major stores (Chicago, Seattle, etc..) The selection of clothing falls way on the conservative side of things. Lets face it, Nashville has plenty of stores that cater to the Bankers and Golfers of the community.

Neiman Marcus - I do like this store but I'm just a normal guy who has no need for a $250 dress shirt. Where would I wear that to?

Saks - Same as above but with less panache (I still carry a SAKS card for some reason).

Macy's - BLEH! Nothing exciting about this store at all. Yeah its better than Hecht's but not by much.

Hecht's - How in the world did May Co. make it this far into life? Their stores (all with different monikers - aside from L&T) are all the same boring stuff. The Mens department is horrible. Why can't I get a good pair of shoes (quality with style) and a suit (not a collection of seperates) in a DEPARTMENT STORE? If Hecht's could have broke away from May Co they would have been better off.

Dillard's - hmm, I'll be nice here. They do a good job in Nashville although they could break away from that boring style a little bit and take a clue from places like Club Monaco, Bloomies and Ann Taylor but at least they have a nice shoe department and real suits and pretty decent service.

Parisian - I think this is our one and only hope for a downtown department store. Embrace it and flood their website with emails requeating a downtown store - lol.

Lord and Taylor - Laugh all you want but this store is so classy to me. Let me rephrase. I like the NYC and Chicago stores because they have a HUGE selection. I also like that they put my purchases in a PAPER shopping bag. Little touches make a big difference to me.

Whatever comes to Nashville is welcomed no doubt, lets just keep our fingers crossed for something cool downtown.

[northernbizzkit1]

Nordstrom is awesome...I got some of my Lucky jeans at the Philadelphia (King of Prussia) Nordstrom...great service and merchandise!

[StevenRocks]

Well since we seem to be speaking a language I know.... (LOL)

I'll give my two cents too

Bloomingdale's - Truly awesome. If they sold big & tall, I'd love it more.

Nordstrom - Held in same regard as Bloomingdales, IMO, except their service is way better and the stuff fits me a little better (they do carry big & tall)

Neiman Marcus - Expensive, yes, but sublime.

Saks - I like it almost as well as Neiman-Marcus, but they're less exciting outside NYC.

Macy's - Outside of NYC, I've never been a big fan. First it was overpriced, then after Federated took over, it became really bland. Not looking forward to "Macy's Nation" at all

Hecht's - Yawn. It's good in Washington, not so much anywhere else. Still hate to see it die, but like Memphian said, their men's department blows.

Dillard's - Used to be my favorite, but they never got out of the early '90s. I do give them props for consistency.

Parisian - Never been, but they seem like a Lord & Taylor wanna-be, which isn't bad, but it's not that exciting either.

Lord and Taylor - The NYC and Chicago stores rule, but I'm still smarting from the debacle that is the Crabtree Valley store in Raleigh. Horrible service, bland clothes, inflexible return policy.

[memphian]

The best Macy's I have been to is in Downtown San Francisco at Union Square. Even better than tha 34th St. store in NYC. GREAT service there as well as an awesome selection of clothing AND a Cheesecake Factory on the top floor overlooking Union Square.

[cheeriokid61]

^That cheesecake factory was soooo good.

Sidenote: That Macy's was the very first store that I ever bought cologne at. Just thought y'all might want to know that.

[Lady Celeste]

I don't know why some of you think that Nordstrom's is below Bloomies. They sell almost the same product. Bloomies has more in the way of furniture and housewares. Nordstrom's is more soft goods, but when it comes to shoes. Nordstrom's blows Neiman's, Bloomies, Saks, etc. out of the water. Their men's shoe department is larger than any of those others women's shoe departments. For the women that have hard to find sizes, Nordstroms is heaven. As far as Lord and Taylor, it is a May Co. store. Enough said, May Co.=Junk. Nashville will be glad to get rid of Hecht's and get Macy's. Lord and Taylor is Hecht's with less merch.

Let me rephrase my response since I was one of the persons to say Nordstrom was a slight step below Bloomies.

I am only speaking of my experience here in Atlanta. We have two Bloomingdales and three Nordstroms . At Perimeter Mall, there is a Nordstrom and a Bloomingdales. Nordstrom is very high end but the Perimeter Mall Nordstrom has way more sales and you can find much better deals. You can always find a $350 pair of Dolce and Gabanna shoes in Nordstroms but that same pair will be $415 at Bloomies. I have yet to see a sale a Bloomies the same like I see at Nordstrom....and I'm a shopper. Now Nordstrom is not a glorified Dillards because of it's exemplary service and customer care. I even enjoy the piano player that is right by the St John's area. Our second Bloomies is at Lenox Mall and it competes with Nieman Marcus....instead of sales, I find this Bloomies goes up to Neiman's price points.

Now the Nordstrom at the Mall of Georgia is not near the level of the ones at Phipps Plaza (Buckhead) or Perimeter Mall (Perimeter Center). It's nearest store competitor at this mall is Atlanta's lone Lord and Taylor. So it tends not to carry as much couture clothing. That's the only reason why I said Nordstrom in Atlanta was a slight step down from Bloomingdales. In other cities, this may not be the case.

That's all I was saying when I gave my thoughts.....which mine were specific to what i have seen here in the Atlanta market.

[memphian]

^That cheesecake factory was soooo good.

Sidenote: That Macy's was the very first store that I ever bought cologne at. Just thought y'all might want to know that.

Let me make you jealous then... I am heading to Chicago this week and then to San Fran on Monday. I hope to get some good urban pics to bring back and discuss (just have to learn how to post them).

[cheeriokid61]

^My two favorite cities!

[StevenRocks]

The best Macy's I have been to is in Downtown San Francisco at Union Square. Even better than tha 34th St. store in NYC. GREAT service there as well as an awesome selection of clothing AND a Cheesecake Factory on the top floor overlooking Union Square.

I've heard lots of great things about that Macy's Union Square but I've never been. Having a Cheesecake Factory inside would make it even better.

[Lexy]

I am just curious as to whether this will "cap" the market for a while and limit the potential at our one TRUE high end area in Green Hills??? I know that the Mall @ Green Hills is looking for another high end anchor for them. Seems as though if Franklin gets it (which they always seem to) that would cap this market for a period of time due to the relative size of the market.

To me, Franklin represents $50 dollar millionaires and not true wealth that is found in places like Belle Meade and areas around it.