Nordstrom sales and profit climb, but earnings miss analyst estimates

Nordstrom says profit and sales climbed in the most recent quarter, although earnings came in just below what analysts predicted.

Nordstrom says men’s shoes, men’s apparel and kids’ clothes did especially well. Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand says the company’s also doing well online. He says brick-and-mortar retailers like Nordstrom may have been late to the game but they’re reaping the benefits of e-commerce.

"Customers, especially in apparel, footwear and accessories, they often want to try things on, but they really value having a deeper assortment, a deeper level of choice," Swinand said. "So they value having the online and the bricks-and-mortar together and that's been important for department stores."

Swinand says he expects Nordstrom to also benefit from a policy of waiting till after Thanksgiving to put up most of its Christmas decorations. He says that allows the few weeks before Christmas to retain their holiday magic and maybe induce more customers to pay full price.