Nordstrom delays Rack debut in Canada until 2017

New York -- Nordstrom Inc. is delaying the opening of its Nordstrom Rack chain in Canada until 2017, in order to focus its attention on the launch of its full-line department stores there, The Globe and Mail reported.



Nordstrom had initially planned to start opening Rack stores in Canada next year. But the company has decided to focus on the openings of its six Canadian department stores (the first, in Calgary, is due to open this fall).



"Given everything on our plate in both the U.S. and Canada and the complexity of it, we thought, let's work on getting the (Canadian) full-line stores up and running to the best of our ability first," Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White told Reuters.



Nordstrom said altering its computer systems and distribution for its first international expansion was proving to be more complex than expected, despite the similarities between the U.S. and Canadian markets, according to the report.



In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Nordstrom said it underestimated the costs and systems involved in ramping up in Canada, Ms. White said.



“There are enough differences for us in our distribution and systems that virtually everything that we do in the States we have to alter somehow for Canada, and we had underestimated that,” White said in the interview.