Sales of off-price merchandise continue to grow at a rapid clip for Nordstrom Inc. through the first nine months of the year. Nordstrom, No. 19 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, reported sales through its off-price sites NordstromRack.com and HauteLook of $363 million, up 45.8% from $249.0 million during the same time last year.
Sales grew at a less steep pace during just the third quarter, with Nordstrom reporting revenue of $129.0 million through both sites, up 38.7% from $93.0 million during the same time last year.
“This business gives us access to new markets and a pipeline of new and younger customers to Nordstrom,” co-president Blake Nordstrom told analysts on the retailer’s Q3 2015 earnings call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “Since the launch of NordstromRack.com over a year ago, the pace of growth is accelerating faster than we anticipated.”
Nordstrom reported overall e-commerce sales of $543.0 million during the quarter, up 17.0% from $464.0 million during the same time last year. Sales through its flagship Nordstrom.com were at $414.0 million during the quarter, up 11.6% during the same time last year.
Through the first nine months of 2015, Nordstrom reported overall e-commerce revenue of $1.88 billion, up 22.1% from $1.54 billion during the same time last year. Sales through flagship Nordstrom.com during the first nine months were $1.518 billion, up 17.6% from $1.291 billion during the same time last year.
Blake Nordstrom says heightened selection and investments in fulfillment should help the company continue its online momentum in the final quarter of the year.
“At Nordstrom.com, we’ve made ongoing progress on our strategic priorities around selection, convenience and experience,” he said. “This included expanded selection of roughly 20% and increased capacity with our new East Coast fulfillment center.”
Nordstrom announced last month it will hire 11,800 seasonal employees for the holidays, 13.6% of whom (1,600) will work in its three e-commerce fulfillment centers.
For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Nordstrom reported:
- E-commerce accounts for 16.8% of overall sales, compared to 15.3% during the same time last year.
- Net sales of $3.239 billion, up 6.5% from $3.040 billion during the same time last year.
- Net earnings of $81.0 million, down from $142.0 million during the same time last year.
For the first nine months of 2015, Nordstrom reported:
- E-commerce accounts for 18.9% of overall sales, compared to 16.8% of overall sales during the same time last year.
- Net sales of $9.95 billion, up 8.5% from $9.17 billion during the same time last year.
- Net earnings of $420.0 million, down from $465.0 million during the same time last year.
- A total store count of 323, up 10.2% from 293 during the same time last year.