March 9, 2016, Pacific Business News
Nordstrom is set to open to the public on Friday morning in its new digs at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, yet some, including me, got a sneak peek of the dazzling three-level 186,000-square-foot store on Tuesday evening at its opening gala. Many in the Hawaii business community, including David Striph of The Howard Hughes Corp., Mark Bratton of Colliers International Hawaii, Phil Martin of Clark Hatch Fitness, and Russell Young of Albert C. Kobayashi Inc., were there to see the new store, which moved to the shopping mall’s new Ewa Wing. That expansion already features such retailers such as the state’s first Bloomingdale’s, The North Face, Zara and many others.
Nordstrom Ala Moana’s opening gala was also a chance for the Seattle-based retailer to give back to the community, as all proceeds from ticket sales for the event, amounting to more than $120,000, will go to the Aloha United Way, with funds supporting Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii. More than 1,200 people attended the event.
Several of Hawaii’s top chefs were also there to share their creations, including Chris Kajioka of Senia Restaurant, Andrew Le of The Pig & the Lady and Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Wade Ueoka of MW Restaurant. The store has many of the same components of the old store, but it was good to see a new local section, featuring local designers, including Pineapple Palaka. The store also includes Habitant Lounge and Bar and the Ruscello Restaurant, with outdoor seating and ocean views.
I even got the chance to meet and chat briefly with Erik Nordstrom, who is a co-president of one of the largest luxury retailers in the nation, along with his two brothers, Pete and Blake.
He told me that the family-run company has much respect for and a deep commitment to Hawaii, doing business in the Aloha State for about 50 years, beginning with its operation of the shoe department at Liberty House.
Then in 1997, Nordstrom first announced plans to build its own 211,000-square-foot full-line department store at Ala Moana Center, which opened in 2008.
Erik Nordstrom said he was extremely impressed by the look and feel of the new store. He has noted that Ala Moana Center is “pretty special” to his company, which also has a Nordstrom Rack store at The Howard Hughes Corp.’s Ward Village and another rack store opening in a ground floor space of the Waikiki Trade Center.
The co-president model at Nordstrom is a rare sight in corporate America, with only a handful of companies of its size having such a structure. But it has been the norm for the Nordstrom family, which had a co-leadership structure at the beginning when the sons of Swedish immigrants founded the brand in 1901.