Nordstrom Reopening Most Remaining Canadian Stores on Thursday

nordstrom, sherway gardens. photo: nordstrom

By Jessica Finch

On Thursday, June 11, upscale Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom will open the remainder of its full-line Nordstrom stores as well as select off-price Nordstrom Rack stores in Canada. All of Nordstrom's stores closed temporarily in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some in British Columbia and Alberta had already reopened after government restrictions were lifted.

While retailers in enclosed shopping malls have not been permitted to reopen in Toronto, all of Nordstrom's stores in the city feature exterior entrances thus allowing them to reopen as per guidelines. Nordstrom operates three full-line stores in Toronto as well as three Nordstrom Rack units in the region.

Locations due to open on June 11 include the following:

• Ontario: Nordstrom CF Rideau Centre, Nordstrom CF Sherway Gardens, Nordstrom Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Nordstrom CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Nordstrom Rack Ottawa Train Yards, Nordstrom Rack Vaughan Mills, and Nordstrom Rack Heartland Town Centre

• Alberta: Nordstrom Rack Deerfoot Meadows and Nordstrom Rack South Edmonton Common

These locations will join the already-opened full-line Nordstrom store in Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre which opened on May 28, as well as the Nordstrom flagship at Vancouver’s CF Pacific Centre which reopened on May 22. This announcement means that all Nordstrom Rack locations will once again be open to the public, bar the location on Bloor St. in Toronto, which is set to reopen soon.

nordstrom rack, vaughan mills. photo: nordstrom rack

Nordstrom wrote on its blog Nordstrom Now: “On behalf of the entire team at Nordstrom, we'd like to take a moment to say thank you again for your loyalty and support. The past several months have been unlike anything we've ever experienced, and we're working hard to evolve so we can continue to show up in a meaningful way for you, our employees and communities. We want to continue to bring you the service and convenience you need, even if it may look a little different than it has in the past.”

Despite the continued online presence and availability of curbside pickup (which will continue to be offered at all Nordstrom stores at all times with the exception of Nordstrom Rideau Centre), Nordstrom had closed all stores across the country in March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada. Now, as the numbers are decreasing and the curve is slowly being flattened, Nordstrom is taking a phased, market-by-market approach to reopening its stores. The company has reiterated the importance of maintaining the health and wellbeing of its employees, customers, and surrounding communities, and so are taking necessary steps to ensure Nordstrom stores remain in alignment with the government guidelines.

nordstrom, chinook centre. photo: nordstrom

Nordstrom have laid out the precautionary steps it will be taking moving forward. Some updates include:

• Conducting temperature checks and health screenings for our employees before they come into work

• Providing face coverings for employees and customers

• Taking steps to allow for social distancing of six feet or more, including limiting the number of customers and employees in the store

• Increasing cleaning and sanitization

• Modifying the fitting room experience

• Continuing to offer contactless curbside services at our full-line stores

• Pausing or adapting high-touch services and customer events

• Keeping tried on or returned merchandise off the sales floor for a period of time

• Altering hours of operation

For further details on the steps being taken in response to COVID-19 can be found on www.nordstrom.ca and additional information on each store is available on Nordstrom’s Store Locator Page.

Last month, Nordstrom announced that it was closing 16 stores in the United States. Fortunately none of the Canadian stores will be closing thus far and as of Thursday, all will again be operational. A Nordstrom Rack store at Willowbrook Centre near Vancouver was set to open in April of this year, and the landlord for the centre has confirmed that Nordstrom Rack's opening has been delayed until the fall.

Jessica Finch is a writer and editor based in Toronto. She holds a BA in English and Psychology and is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Publishing program. She has extensive managerial experience in the food service industry, and is interested in exploring innovations within this sector and other retail environments. Email: jessica@retail-insider.com

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