Nordstrom Q3 profit up 15%; to open six pop-up shops

Seattle -- Nordstrom reported third-quarter net earnings of $146 million, up 15% from $127 million for the same quarter last year. Its results were slightly below analysts’ expectations.



The company said that its third quarter same-store sales, which reflected a timing shift that moved a week of the company’s important Anniversary Sale event into August this year, increased 10.7%. Top-performing merchandise categories included men’s shoes, men’s apparel and kids’ apparel.



Combined second and third quarter same-store sales, which removes the impact of the Anniversary Sale shift, increased 7.3% compared with the same period in fiscal 2011. Net sales in the third quarter were $2.71 billion, an increase of 13.8%, compared with net sales of $2.38 billion during the same period in fiscal 2011.



The retailer said that Nordstrom Rack, which opened thirteen stores during the first nine months of the year, continued to demonstrate strong sales growth in the third quarter with increases in net sales of 16.3% and same-store sales of 8.1%.



In other news, Nordstrom will open six pop-up shops in February featuring merchandise from up-and-coming designers, the Los Angeles Times reported.



The temporary shops will feature 10 designers who are finalists for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which awards $300,000 every year to the winner and is intended to nurture young design talent, the report said.