4
PART I
Item 1. Business.
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Founded in 1901 as a retail shoe business in Seattle, Nordstrom later incorporated in Washington state in 1946 and went on to become one 
of the leading fashion specialty retailers based in the U.S. As of March 16, 2015, we operate 290 U.S. stores located in 38 states as well as a 
robust ecommerce business through Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook and TrunkClub.com. We also operate two 
Nordstrom full-line stores in Canada. The west and east coasts of the U.S. are the areas in which we have the largest presence. We have 
two reportable segments: Retail and Credit.
As of March 16, 2015, the Retail segment includes our 115 “Nordstrom” branded full-line stores in the U.S. and Nordstrom.com, 167 off-price 
Nordstrom Rack stores, two Canada full-line stores, Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook, and other retail channels including five Trunk Club 
showrooms and TrunkClub.com, our two Jeffrey boutiques and one clearance store that operates under the name “Last Chance.” Through 
these multiple retail channels, we strive to deliver the best customer experience possible. We offer an extensive selection of high-quality 
brand-name and private label merchandise focused on apparel, shoes, cosmetics and accessories. Our integrated Nordstrom full-line stores 
and online store allow us to provide our customers with a seamless shopping experience. In-store purchases are primarily fulfilled from that 
store’s inventory, but when inventory is unavailable at that store it may also be shipped to our customers from our fulfillment center in Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa, or from other Nordstrom full-line stores. Online purchases are primarily shipped to our customers from our Cedar Rapids 
fulfillment center, but may also be shipped from our Nordstrom full-line stores. Our customers can also pick up online orders in our Nordstrom 
full-line stores if inventory is available at one of our locations. These capabilities allow us to better serve customers across various channels 
and improve sales. Nordstrom Rack stores purchase high-quality brand-name merchandise primarily from the same vendors carried in 
Nordstrom full-line stores and also serve as outlets for clearance merchandise from our Nordstrom stores and other retail channels. During 
the year, we launched Nordstromrack.com and the associated mobile app. Nordstromrack.com combines the technology expertise of 
HauteLook with the merchant expertise of Nordstrom Rack. Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook offer limited-time sale events on fashion and 
lifestyle brands as well as a persistent selection of off-price, high-quality brand-name merchandise and are integrated with a single customer 
log-in, shared shopping cart and streamlined checkout process. Furthermore, we can accommodate returns from these sites by mail or at 
any Nordstrom Rack location. 
Our Credit segment includes our wholly owned federal savings bank, Nordstrom fsb, through which we provide a private label credit card, 
two Nordstrom Visa credit cards and a debit card. The credit and debit cards feature a loyalty program designed to increase customer visits 
and spending. Although the primary purposes of our Credit segment are to foster greater customer loyalty and drive more sales, we also 
generate revenues from finance charges and other fees on these cards. In addition, we save on interchange fees that the Retail segment 
would incur if our customers used third-party cards.
For more information about our business and our reportable segments, see Item 7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations and Note 16: Segment Reporting in Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
FISCAL YEAR
We operate on a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31st. References to 2014 and all years within this 
document are based on a 52-week fiscal year, except 2012, which is based on a 53-week fiscal year.
TRADEMARKS