Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today reported third quarter net earnings of $64 million or $0.39 per diluted share, with earnings before interest and taxes (“EBIT”) of $127 million.
For the third quarter ended October 30, 2021, net sales increased 18 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2020 and decreased 1 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2019. The timing of this year’s Anniversary Sale, with approximately one week falling into the third quarter of 2021, had a positive impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with fiscal 2019.
During the quarter, Nordstrom banner net sales increased 3 percent versus the third quarter of fiscal 2019, which included an approximately 300 basis point positive impact from Anniversary Sale timing, while net sales for Nordstrom Rack decreased 8 percent versus the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Sales in the home, active, designer and beauty categories had the strongest growth compared with the third quarter of 2019. Geographically, Nordstrom comparable store sales in the Southern regions, including Southern California, grew 8 percent versus 2019 and outperformed the Northern regions. Comparable sales in suburban area stores continued to be stronger than urban stores in the third quarter, with both improving sequentially over the second quarter.
“We have long benefited from a commitment to customer service, new and compelling merchandise, innovative brand partnerships and interconnected digital and physical assets. However, we need to move faster to capitalize on these strengths and profitably grow market share. We’re taking action to improve performance at Nordstrom Rack, including optimizing inventory levels, better balancing price points and increasing brand awareness. Work is also underway to improve merchandise margin across the Company and ensure we have the visibility and flexibility we need to serve our customers seamlessly, despite global supply chain challenges,” said Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom, Inc. “In the third quarter, we made continued progress toward our strategic and financial goals, driven by strong digital growth, the integrated capabilities enabled by our Market Strategy and increased net sales in our Nordstrom banner stores, but we are focused on accelerating our transformation and improving results.”
THIRD QUARTER 2021 SUMMARY
*Total Company net sales increased 18 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2020, during which the entire Anniversary Sale temporarily shifted to the third quarter. Net sales decreased 1 percent relative to the same period in fiscal 2019. The timing of this year’s Anniversary Sale, with approximately one week falling into the third quarter of 2021, had a positive impact on net sales of approximately 200 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2019.
*For the Nordstrom banner, net sales increased 11 percent and 3 percent compared with the same periods in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively. The timing of this year’s Anniversary Sale had a positive impact on Nordstrom banner net sales of approximately 300 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2019. For the Nordstrom Rack banner, net sales increased 35 percent and decreased 8 percent compared with the same periods in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively.
*Digital sales decreased 12 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2020, during which the Anniversary Sale temporarily shifted to the third quarter of that year, and increased 20 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2019. The timing of this year’s Anniversary Sale had a positive impact on Company digital sales of approximately 400 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2019. Digital sales represented 40 percent of total sales during the quarter.
*Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, of 35 percent increased 230 basis points compared with the same period in fiscal 2020 primarily due to fewer markdowns and leverage from higher net sales. Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, increased 80 basis points compared with the same period in fiscal 2019, driven by increased leverage on lower buying and occupancy costs as well as higher merchandise margins.
*Ending inventory increased 13 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2019, versus a 1 percent decrease in sales. The change in inventory levels versus 2019 was due to the Company’s actions to pull forward receipts to support early holiday sales and mitigate continuing supply chain backlogs.
*Third quarter net income of $64 million increased from net income of $53 million during the same period in fiscal 2020, which included a tax benefit associated with the CARES Act of $19 million.
https://investor.nordstrom.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nordstrom-reports-third-quarter-2021-earnings