There was confusion about the new ad campaign and what it means for long-time customers. There was the lady who could no longer find evening gowns in the stores and the man who was complaining that his wife's favorite cosmetic line was dropped. While many of the socio-economic issues have become the usual fodder for such events, the positive changes and new direction the company is taking appeared somewhat lost on the audience. No, Whitacre explained, Nordstrom is not leaving its loyal customer base behind to seek a younger clientele. The store's traditional fashion styles will remain.
People get so comfortable with today and yesterday that change is scary.
Growing pains As scary as changes are, for Whitacre and his team it was clear from the company's performance over the past decade that they had to be made. In 1996, same-store sales, which count stores open at least 14 months, rose an anemic 0.6 percent. In 1997, they climbed 3.8 percent, but then fell 2.6 percent in 1998 and another 1.1 percent in 1999. More worrisome were the reports that Nordstrom's fashion sense was slipping and was not keeping up with new trends. That forced some deep and at times unsettling changes on the organization.