It was a good news, bad news type of earnings report for apparel and accessories department store chain Nordstrom, according to recent reports from industry news source Chain Store Age.
The company’s earnings came in at $151 million, a drop from last year’s $201 million figure. All in, it reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.20, four cents below the $1.24 expected by analysts.
While earnings came in down, and below expectations, net sales were up 8.4 percent and clocked in at a better-than-anticipated $4.6 billion for the fourth quarter. Same-store sales were also up, registering an increase of 2.6 percent. The Nordstrom.com website and the company’s Trunk Club style aid offering each saw positive results as well — up 2.4 percent in this case.
In addition, the company’s off-price business Nordstrom Rack brand saw positive numbers of its own, with same-store sales increasing by 3.7 percent. All in, Nordstrom reported net earnings of $437 million on the year compared to last year’s $354 million. Its net sales increased 4.4 percent to a “record” $15.1 billion.
Customer growth remained on the incline, too, up 4 percent to around 33 million, and the number of registered Nordstrom Rewards customers increased by 35 percent to 10.5 million. Those rewards customers were very, well, rewarding for the brand, responsible for approximately 51 percent of sales — an increase from 44 percent in 2016.
Meanwhile, Nordstrom Rack gained 6 million new customers, with approximately one-third of them expected to cross-shop from the off-price offerings to the full-price business over time.
As for what is predicted to come next for the company, Nordstrom expects to see net sales hit $15.2 to $15.4 billion. It’s also anticipating same-store sales to rise between 0.5 and 1.5 percent, and the brand recently announced its intent to open one new Nordstrom location and 12 Nordstrom Rack storefronts this year.
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