Nordstrom Local Bolsters Its L.A. Presence

Two more Nordstrom Local service hubs are opening soon in Los Angeles, which happens to be the retailer’s largest-volume metro area. The additions bring the Nordstrom Local count to five in L.A., and furthers the retailer’s evolving market strategy to bring greater conveniences to shoppers. The Nordstrom Local concept is designed to be a convenient service hub in neighborhoods where Nordstrom customers live and work, so trips to actual Nordstrom stores farther away can be avoided. Nordstrom Local provides such services as order pickups, returns, alterations, stylists and gift wrapping. It’s also a piece of the retailer’s overall market strategy to get closer to customers, get them more engaged, and provide faster deliveries and more seamless shopping experiences, channel to channel, such as enabling customers to pick up nordstrom.com, nordstromrack.com and HauteLook.com orders at Nordstrom Rack off-price stores. They’re not mini-versions of Nordstrom stores and there’s no merchandise displayed, aside from a handful of items in the back of the store by a touch-screen for online shopping, or what Nordstrom stylists have gathered to show clients coming in. The first Nordstrom Local opened on Melrose Avenue in L.A. three years ago. Subsequently, Nordstrom Locals opened in the Brentwood and downtown sections of L.A. Coming up in L.A., a 1,193-square-foot Nordstrom Local at 2043 Westcliff Drive in Newport Beach is opening on Nov. 6, and a 1,886-square-foot Nordstrom Local at 451 Manhattan Beach Boulevard in Manhattan Beach is opening in the coming months. There are also two Nordstrom Locals operating in New York City, in the West Village, at 13 Seventh Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets, and on the Upper East Side, at 1273 Third Avenue. Before the pandemic, the company’s executives said the plan was to roll out the local market strategy with Nordstrom Locals to other major markets, including Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Dallas. The timing of that is unclear. “We don’t have anything to share about opening additional Nordstrom Local locations at this time, however our customers help us guide our journey and this is something we will continue to look at,” a Nordstrom spokeswoman told WWD.