Nordstorm closes all North American stores for two weeks in response to COVID-19 outbreak

article

SEATTLE - Nordstrom announced Tuesday that it will close all its stores in North America for two weeks, effective immediately.

Nordstrom becomes the latest company to announce temporary store closures due to coronavirus concerns.

Co-presidents Erik and Pete Nordstrom released the following statement:

"On behalf of everyone at Nordstrom, our hearts go out to all those impacted by COVID-19—this includes not only those diagnosed with the virus, but also their friends and family, those whose jobs and schools have been impacted and so many more. Our focus is, as always, on the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities.

The situation is changing rapidly, and to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus, we have decided to temporarily close all our stores. The two-week closure will go into effect on Tuesday, March 17. This decision includes all our U.S. and Canada stores. We remain open and ready to serve you through our apps and online at Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook.com and TrunkClub.com—including digital styling, online order pickup and curbside services at our full-line stores, as we are allowed by local regulations.

We realize the impact a closure can have on our store employees, and this is not a decision we made lightly. We want to take care of them as best we can and will be providing them with pay and benefits during this two-week period as well as providing additional resources to help them through this challenging time.

There is no question this is a time of great uncertainty. While we don't know exactly what the future may hold, we feel confident that by sticking together and supporting each other, we'll emerge from this stronger than before."