Description

Erik Nordstrom is the Chief Executive Officer of Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN), a leading fashion retailer with an unwavering commitment to customer service.

With a team of 50,000 dedicated employees across United States and Canada, Erik has enabled the organization to move with speed and flexibility to adapt to the rapid changes in customer expectations in an increasingly digital world. This agility became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required Nordstrom to temporarily close stores and operate online only. While COVID was certainly disruptive, it also accelerated existing trends which Nordstrom had been preparing for.

High among those trends was the customer’s desire for convenience and connection. Convenience comes from leveraging infrastructure to better serve customers how they want to be served. Connection means knowing the customer, being relevant and being able to personalize the experience digitally and in-store. Nordstrom is delivering on both by unlocking the full power of its digital-first platform to get closer to customers than ever before.

While Nordstrom is in a position of strength emerging from the pandemic and rapidly adjusting to this new retail environment through moves like partnering with online fashion retailer ASOS, retail analysts are still uncertain of what the future of the industry holds.

“What we know with certainty with the pandemic is that we don’t know,” BMO capital markets managing director Simeon Siegel noted. “The prior rules of retail placement simply no longer exist.”

Siegel said Nordstrom could be poised to comeback stronger than its peers due to a stronger e-commerce platform. But the industry’s buzzword “experiential” may need to be reinvented.

“The most recent buzzword in retail has been ‘experiential,’” Siegel said. “The risk factor now is that experiences in stores are exactly what people are concerned about.”

Erik Nordstrom will join the HBS Club of NY over Zoom for an exclusive conversation about all things retail. Join us for this insightful discussion.

Participants must register by NOON on September 27th to receive details on joining the discussion. The Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event.

Please note that no refunds will be issued.