SEATTLE (May 17, 2000) - Nordstrom announced yesterday the selection of two of its vendors to receive the company’s Partners In Excellence Award, recognizing outstanding commitment to quality and service. The winners, Lancôme, Paris and Garfield & Marks Design, Ltd. were chosen from a field of more than 30,000 vendors and were announced at the company’s annual meeting at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.

Nordstrom has long recognized the importance of its vendors to the success of the company, which has been in business for nearly 100 years. Created in 1992, the Partners In Excellence Award gives public recognition to those vendors who demonstrate a commitment to quality, value, service, partnership and business ethics.

Lancôme is part of the Luxury Products Division of Cosmair, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Paris based L’Oréal, S.A. Created in 1935, Lancôme was introduced to the United States in 1953 and is currently sold in over 160 countries. Lancôme’s mission is to provide women around the world with the highest quality products and services that fulfill their quest and enthusiasm for beauty.

"Lancôme consistently delivers value to our customers by providing us with exclusive merchandise, promotions and training which help us offer a point of difference," said Pete Nordstrom, executive vice president, full-line store merchandising strategy. "Lancôme has demonstrated a great deal of flexibility in supporting our business initiatives and we are extremely pleased to present them with our Partners in Excellence Award."

"Like Nordstrom, our mission at Lancôme is to strive for excellence in both the quality of our products and the services which we provide our customers," said Luc Nadeau, senior vice president and general manager of Lancôme. "It is our partnership with Nordstrom that has helped us to achieve these goals. We could not be more honored to receive this outstanding recognition and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Nordstrom in the years ahead."

Founded in 1993 by partners and friends Alex Garfield and Bernie Marks, the Garfield & Marks bridge collection perfectly married the concepts of style and practicality. Now named GM Design Group, the company currently offers four product lines:

Garfield & Marks, Womyn, Kenar and Plein Air Collections. Nordstrom is the only nationwide retailer to offer Garfield & Marks apparel.

"Garfield & Marks exemplifies the very best in vendor partnerships with outstanding product, in-store support and consistent fill rates in replenishment items," said Geevy Thomas executive vice president, full-line store merchandise strategy. "As our business grows and changes, it is more important than ever to have vendor partners with a clear understanding of how to meet and exceed our customers needs - an ideal that Garfield & Marks has met time and time again.

"Garfield & Marks is pleased and proud to accept the Partners in Excellence Award and to share the Nordstrom vision of fine service and product for its customers," said JoAnn Langer CEO and president, GM Design Group. "Building our Garfield & Marks brand with a clear vision of our consumer and her apparel needs has been successful in great part due to the enthusiastic support and partnership of the Nordstrom team."

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 direct mail catalogs. Nordstrom Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.