Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. said it could decide in November whether a new store in Pittsburgh is in its future. Nordstrom has been a cornerstone of the mayor's proposal from the start. At one point, he even called a news conference to announce that a deal had been reached with the retailer. Only problem was, Nordstrom wasn't aware of it. Last week, all the mayor's men again voiced confidence that Nordstrom would indeed be opening up shop here, or in the alternative, that Fifth and Forbes could survive without it.
Confidence is fine.
But the line is fine between confidence and arrogance and the lack of any suitable backup plan could at best be called foolhardy. In any deal, it's usually a good idea to at least present the appearance of having some concrete options. It gives you leverage with your potential transaction partner. Simply the face of Pittsburgh retailing for say, oh, the next 25 years. But then again, maybe not.