Nordstrom to exit Canada, closes 13 stores

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Mar 5, 2023

Nordstrom is set to exit Canada, closing all 13 of its stores in the country and laying off approximately 2,500 employees. 

The retailer, which first entered the country almost 10 years ago, will close its six Nordstrom stores and seven Nordstrom Rack stores, as well as the Nordstrom.ca website. On Thursday, it obtained an Initial Order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") to speed up the process. 

The Seattle-based retailer will work with a third-party liquidator to wind-down its in-store activity that are anticipated to be completed by late June 2023, while its Canadian e-commerce platform suddenly ceased operations on March 2. 

“We regularly review every aspect of our business to make sure that we are set up for success," said Erik Nordstrom. "We entered Canada in 2014 with a plan to build and sustain a long-term business there. Despite our best efforts, we do not see a realistic path to profitability for the Canadian business. We want to thank our team for their performance and dedication in serving customers in Canada. This decision will simplify our structure, intensify focus on our growth and profitability goals and position us to create greater value for our shareholders.”

The company expects to report approximately $300 million to $350 million of pre-tax charges related to the wind-down in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, driven primarily by the write-down of the company's investment in Nordstrom Canada.

The wind-down is expected to result in an approximately $400 million decline in total company net sales and a $35 million improvement in total company EBIT in fiscal 2023, relative to fiscal 2022, excluding the aforementioned charges associated with the wind-down.