Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

And then the costs for the supply chain cost of moving that product around. There’s obviously a lot of external factors there, but there’s plenty of internal levers for us to pull. And last quarter is a good example. I feel really good about our supply chain performance this last quarter and the traction we’re getting on some initiatives. So, a long way of answering your question that, yes, we would revisit that as conditions change.

Noah Zatzkin: Thank you.

Anne Bramman: Now, we’ll take one more question.

Operator: Our last question comes from Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group.

Dana Telsey: Hi good afternoon everyone. As you’ve seen the season unfold and the difference between the lower income and the higher income customer cohort, how you’re positioning the brands at the at the full-line Nordstrom stores between the higher end and the lower end and the positioning for Rack? And as we see this going through into 2023, is there a cadence of what the assortment should look like at Rack that you’ve identified given the more premium brands that works well there, of how you’re transitioning the full-line stores to in order to better balance the lower income versus the higher income consumer. Given that typically, we think of Nordstrom is a little bit more higher end than lower income with the headwinds that are rising today. Thank you.

Pete Nordstrom: Hi Dan, it’s Pete. It’s interesting you would intuitively think that when customer demographics are showing different spending patterns related to what’s happening out there inflation, that you would you would see us over-indexing and selling a lot more lower-priced goods. And that’s not necessarily true. I mean, the broken record for us, almost regardless of what macro times are going through, is newness and flow and great brands and just giving people compelling reasons to buy new things, that’s what really works for us. And it works in the Rack banner, and it works in the Nordstrom banner as well. So the fact that we called out that we’re still having good growth in designer, I think, is evidence of the fact that it’s not so much about a specific price point or offer.

We pay close attention what’s going with our customers and close attention to what’s going on out there in the macro environment. But, I think, getting our inventory levels in a position where we can have that kind of consistent flow and the large majority of what we have to offer is new. That’s the most important thing for us. And, I think, in terms of what’s happening in the Rack, again, it’s really about those great brands. It’s not about us just out pursuing the cheapest goods; its great brands, at great prices. And that formula has worked for us in the past, at all times, really, again, regardless of what’s happening in the macro environment. And we anticipate that will continue to work for us again. So we feel good about it. We’ve got access to the greatest brands in the world.

We’re going to continue to bring them in. We do have a difference. We have — even having the two banners, we’ve got that full price proposition. And then, we’ve got that bargain hunter proposition as well. And so, we feel like it’s a big net where we can serve a lot of customers.

Dana Telsey: And what is — how are you thinking about store openings for Rack going forward?