SEATTLE, Wash. - May 15, 2001 - At its annual meeting today, Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) announced the appointment of Mike Koppel to the position of chief financial officer. The announcement comes after an extensive review of internal and external candidates by Nordstrom, Inc. President Blake Nordstrom. Koppel came to Nordstrom in 1999 as vice president and corporate controller and has been the acting chief financial officer since September. He brings more than 22 years of retail and financial experience to the position.

"After meeting with more than a dozen excellent candidates, it became clear to me that the best person for the job was Mike," said Blake Nordstrom. "Mike has an impressive list of accomplishments in retail and financial planning and has worked with a variety of other retail companies. He also has a firm grasp of our business opportunities and a collaborative style that make him the perfect fit with our executive team." Nordstrom added that Korn/Ferry International assisted with the CFO search and provided several outstanding candidates.

Koppel spent more than 13 years with the May Company (1984 - 1997) in a variety of positions, most recently as controller for its Filene's division. In this position he managed the conversion of the retailer's financial and inventory control systems. With G. Fox & Company, Mike held a number of finance positions and had responsibilities for merchandise planning. He also led the consolidation of various systems reporting on sales, margin and inventory performance that were later adopted by the entire May Company organization. "We have great respect for the May Company's financial discipline and Mike's strengths in this area will be a strong asset to our company," added Nordstrom.

Prior to joining Nordstrom, Koppel was chief operating officer of CML Group where he oversaw the sale of its subsidiaries, Nordic Track and Smith & Hawken. From 1997 to 1998, Koppel was chief financial officer at LIDS Corporation and executed a 200 store expansion plan over two years.

As Nordstrom's corporate controller, Koppel has been responsible for financial reporting, accounting operations, taxes, internal audit and financial planning and analysis. He has performed the duties of acting CFO for the past three quarters, including supporting the treasurer and investor relations functions. Mr. Koppel holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut.

In the business portion of the meeting, shareholders elected Alison A. Winter, executive vice president of Midwest Personal Financial Services, The Northern Trust Corporation, as a new director, replacing Anne D. McLaughlin Korologos, who is retiring from the board. Current directors re-elected include: D. Wayne Gittinger, partner, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP; Enrique Hernandez, Jr., president and CEO, Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc.; John A. McMillan, retired Nordstrom co-chairman; Bruce A. Nordstrom, current chairman of Nordstrom's board of directors; John N. Nordstrom, retired Nordstrom co-chairman; Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., director of the Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and associate professor of business economics, The Anderson School at UCLA; William D. Ruckelshaus, a principal with Madrona Investment Group, L.L.C.; and Bruce G. Willison, dean, The Anderson School at UCLA.

The company also recognized two of its apparel vendors with its 'Partners in Excellence' award - Exclusively Misook and J&A Shoe Company. The annual award honors business partners for their commitment to quality, value, service and integrity.

Celebrating 100 years of service, Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 122 US stores located in 24 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 77 full-line stores, 39 Nordstrom Racks, three Façonnable boutiques, two free-standing shoe stores, and one clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 20 international Façonnable boutiques, primarily in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at http://www.nordstrom.com and through its direct mail catalogs.