Nordstrom, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Dollar and share amounts in millions except per share, per option and per unit amounts
Nordstrom, Inc. and subsidiaries  45
Leasehold improvements and leased property and equipment that are purchased at the inception of the lease, or during the lease term, are 
depreciated over the shorter of the lease term or the asset life. Lease terms include the fixed, non-cancelable term of a lease, plus any 
renewal periods determined to be reasonably assured. 
Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of acquisition cost over the fair value of the related net assets acquired and is not subject to amortization. As 
of January 31, 2015, we had Trunk Club goodwill of $261, HauteLook goodwill of $121 and Nordstrom.com and Jeffrey goodwill of $53. We 
review our goodwill annually for impairment or when circumstances indicate its carrying value may not be recoverable. We perform this 
evaluation at the reporting unit level, comprised of the principal business units within our Retail segment, through the application of a two-step 
fair value test. The first step compares the carrying value of the reporting unit to its estimated fair value, which is based on the expected 
present value of future cash flows (income approach), comparable public companies and acquisitions (market approach) or a combination of 
both. If fair value is lower than the carrying value, then a second step is performed to quantify the amount of the impairment. The fair value of 
Trunk Club’s reporting unit will be tested in 2015.
When facts and circumstances indicate that the carrying values of long-lived assets, including buildings, equipment and amortizable 
intangible assets, may be impaired, we perform an evaluation of recoverability by comparing the carrying values of the net assets to their 
related projected undiscounted future cash flows, in addition to other quantitative and qualitative analyses. Upon indication that the carrying 
values of long-lived assets will not be recoverable, we recognize an impairment loss. We estimate the fair value of the assets using the 
expected present value of future cash flows of the assets. Land, property and equipment are grouped at the lowest level at which there are 
identifiable cash flows when assessing impairment. Cash flows for our retail store assets are identified at the individual store level, while our 
intangible assets associated with HauteLook and Trunk Club are identified at their respective reporting unit levels. We did not record any 
material impairment losses for long-lived tangible or amortizable intangible assets in 2014, 2013 or 2012. Amortization expense for acquired 
intangibles was $10, $10 and $19 in 2014, 2013 and 2012. As of January 31, 2015, we expect future amortization expense of acquired 
intangible assets of $16 in 2015, $15 in 2016, $11 in 2017, $7 in 2018 and $7 in 2019.
Self-Insurance
We retain a portion of the risk for certain losses related to employee health and welfare, workers’ compensation and general liability claims. 
Liabilities associated with these losses include undiscounted estimates of both losses reported and losses incurred but not yet reported. We 
estimate our ultimate cost using an actuarially-based analysis of claims experience, regulatory changes and other relevant factors.
Foreign Currency
As of January 31, 2015, we have opened one full-line store in Canada and have announced plans to open five additional full-line stores in 
Canada over the next few years. The functional currency of our Canadian operations is the Canadian Dollar. We translate assets and 
liabilities into U.S. Dollars using the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date, while we translate revenues and expenses using a 
weighted-average exchange rate for the period. We record these translation adjustments as a component of accumulated other