New Maple Grove Center store to open in 2003

SEATTLE (May 8, 2000) - Seattle-based Nordstrom, one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, today announced it has signed a letter of intent with The Rouse Company to build a two-level store of approximately 165,000 square feet at Maple Grove Center. The project will be located along the I-94 corridor in the city of Maple Grove, a Northwest suburb of Minneapolis, Minn. The store is tentatively scheduled to open in 2003 and will be the retailer's second store in Minnesota. Nordstrom will join Dayton's which is also signed to the project.

"We're very pleased to be able to expand into the Northwest Minneapolis area, one of the fastest growing parts of the region," said Bob Middlemas, executive vice president and central states general manager of Nordstrom's full-line store group. "The accessibility of Maple Grove Center and its potential for drawing popular tenants were both factors in our commitment to the project."

Nordstrom opened its first full-line store at the Mall of America in 1992. Nordstrom Rack, the retailer's off-price division, opened at the Mall of America in 1998. The retailer's national expansion plans over the next few years will focus primarily on the country's top 50 metropolitan markets. Future store openings include downtown Chicago (2000), Boca Raton, Fla. (2000), Charlotte, NC (2002), Durham, NC (2002) and St. Louis, Mo. (2002), and Coral Gables, Fla. (Editor's note: For a complete listing of store openings please contact Nordstrom at the number above.)

Nordstrom carries nationally recognized brand names as well as its own exclusive brands, including BCBG Exclusively for Nordstrom, Callaway Golf Apparel, Façonnable, Talora, Classiques Entier, Preview and Halogen.

Nordstrom recently refocused its women's apparel departments to reflect the changing needs of its customers. The retailer has supplemented its strong classic and mainstream offering with more modern and casual merchandise in response to customer feedback. Regional merchandisers are responsible for tailoring the merchandise in each store based on the local community's fashion tastes and preferences.

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 106 stores located in 23 states, including 72 full-line stores, 28 Nordstrom Racks, three Façonnable boutiques, two free-standing shoe stores, and one clearance store. The company also seeks to serve customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com as well as with direct mail catalogs. Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.

Contact:

Paula Weigand, Nordstrom Inc. (206) 373-3036