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“I’m a shoe dog. I say that with all my heart. That doesn’t sound like a complimentary title, but that’s me,” declared Bruce Nordstrom onstage at the FN Achievement Awards in December 2018.
Nordstrom, the ultimate shoe dog, died on Saturday at age 90.
“It is with deep sadness we announce our dad passed away comfortably at home on May 18, with his wife Jeannie by his side,” said Pete and Erik Nordstrom, in a joint statement. “Our dad will be remembered not only for his significant contributions to Nordstrom, but also for his unwavering dedication to his family and friends. His passion, integrity and tireless work ethic served as an inspiration to everyone around him. But perhaps his greatest achievement was being an amazing father, husband and grandfather. Our dad leaves a powerful legacy as a legendary business leader, a generous community citizen and a loyal friend.”
Bruce Nordstrom’s storied career began at the tender age of 9, when he started working at the family shoe store, and his love for his family defined his life and his work.
In 2018, a few months before he received FN’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Nordstrom admitted that being in the business wasn’t a mandate for the third-generation Nordstrom.
My daddy [Everett] said, ‘If you don’t want to do this, go do something else,’ but I never did,” said Bruce at the time. “It was the Second World War, and I was sweeping floors, emptying shoeboxes, breaking them up, flattening them and tying them into bundles. It was hard work, as I was a skinny little guy.”
That skinny kid, who “absolutely loved” retail and its simplicity at the time, inherited a tireless family work ethic.
Driven and detail-oriented, Bruce was asked to be president at 30.
“I felt like a lost dog in the tall grass,” he said in 2018. “But we were a much smaller company in those days, just a couple hundred employees and a few shoe stores in Portland [Ore.] and Seattle. ”Almost immediately, his father and Uncle Elmer retired — and Bruce was left to determine his path. Wisely, he turned to “Uncle” Lloyd Nordstrom (chairman at the time) for guidance. But specific advice was sometimes hard to come by. “I learned the most from my dad, but you had to know him,” said Bruce. “He was smart, but he didn’t want to interfere with anything. When I was made president, he almost stopped coming to the store. It was a sink-or-swim deal for me.”
Amid a period of great growth, Bruce and team took the company public in 1971, debuted the first Nordstrom Rack in 1973 and continued major expansion throughout the U.S., including the lucrative California market, before he officially retired in 1995.
His retirement was somewhat short-lived, as he returned to the chairman role in 2000 during a rocky time for the company — and then he retired for good in 2006.
More than a decade later, Bruce — who proudly handed the reins to his sons, Erik, Pete and the late Blake Nordstrom — relished any opportunity to be on the retail floor.
“I still like to go around and ask about everything,” Bruce said in 2018. “I get to know the store manager and look around different departments. Of course, I can’t know everyone now, but they know Mr. Bruce.”
Bruce Nordstrom is survived by his wife Jeannie; his sister Anne Gittinger; his sons Pete and Erik; daughter-in laws Brandy, Julie and Molly; and seven grandchildren, Alex, Andy, Leigh, Sam, Sara, Micki and Chet.
