NORDSTROM REPORTS AUGUST SAME-STORE SALES INCREASE OF 3.2%

SEATTLE - September 4, 2003 - Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported preliminary sales of $402.6 million for the four-week period ending August 30, 2003, an increase of 11.3 percent compared to sales of $361.7 million for the four-week period ending August 31, 2002. Same-store sales increased 3.2 percent.

August same-store sales in full-line stores increased in the Northwest, Southwest and Central States geographic regions. By merchandise division, same-store sales increased in Shoes, Cosmetics, Accessories, Men's Wear, Women's Active Wear, Junior Women's, Intimate Apparel, and Women's Designer Apparel.

Preliminary year-to-date sales of $3.5 billion increased 6.6 percent compared to year-to-date 2002 sales of $3.3 billion. Year-to-date same-store sales increased 1.8 percent.

SALES RECORDING
To hear Nordstrom's prerecorded August sales message, please dial (402) 530-7891. This recording is available for one week.

GAAP SALES PERFORMANCE
The additional information provided in this section is to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G. The Company converted to a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar at the beginning of 2003. This change in the fiscal calendar has resulted in differences in the number of days included in the current period versus the same period in the prior year. Sales performance numbers included in this sales release have been calculated on a comparative 4-5-4 basis. The Company believes that adjusting for these differences provides a more comparable basis (4-5-4 vs. 4-5-4) from which to evaluate sales performance. The following reconciliation bridges 2002 GAAP sales to the 4-5-4 comparable sales.

FUTURE REPORTING DATES
Nordstrom's financial release calendar for the next several months is provided in the table below.

September Sales Release	Thurs., October 9, 2003
October Sales Release	Thurs., November 6, 2003
Third Quarter Earnings	Thurs., November 20, 2003
November Sales Release	Thurs., December 4, 2003

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 146 US stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 90 full-line stores, 49 Nordstrom Racks, five Façonnable boutiques, one free-standing shoe store, and one clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 31 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.

SALES SUMMARY
(unaudited; $ in millions)	Aug. 2003	Aug. 2002	YTD 2003	YTD 2002
Total sales	$402.6	$361.7	$3,523.1	$3,305.6
Total sales percentage change	11.3%	3.9%	6.6%	4.8%
Same-store sales percentage change	3.2%	0.2%	1.8%	0.3%
Number of stores (as of August 30, 2003)
Full-line	90	83
Rack and other	56	54
International Façonnable     boutiques	31	23
Total	177	160
Gross square footage (As of August 30, 2003)	18,847,000	17,488,000

Certain statements in this news release contain "forward-looking" information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involves risks and uncertainties, including anticipated results, store openings and distribution channels, planned capital expenditures, and trends in company operations. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or current expectations depending upon factors including, but not limited to, the company's ability to predict fashion trends, consumer apparel buying patterns, the company's ability to control costs, weather conditions, hazards of nature such as earthquakes and floods, trends in personal bankruptcies and bad debt write-offs, changes in interest rates, employee relations, the company's ability to continue its expansion plans, and the impact of economic and competitive market forces, including the impact of terrorist activity or the impact of a war on the company, its customers and the retail industry. Our SEC reports may contain other information on these and other factors that could affect our financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking information we may provide.