THE WHAT? Fashion and beauty retailer Nordstrom has reported a Q4 net sales increase of 23 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2020 and a 1 percent decrease versus the same period in fiscal 2019.

THE DETAILS Net earnings reached US$200 million with earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of US$299 million, or 6.8 percent of sales for Q4. 

Sales in beauty, active, designer and kids had the strongest growth compared to Q4 2019, with Nordstrom banner sales in the Southern markets, including Southern California, outperforming the Northern markets by approximately 7 percentage points.

THE WHY? According to Nordstrom, it continued to navigate global supply chain disruptions throughout the quarter by accelerating receipts and investing in improved in-stock levels. 

Inventory levels at the end of the quarter were higher than planned, however, Nordstrom expects to reduce its inventory relative to sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

Erik Nordstrom, Chief Executive Officer of Nordstrom, said, “We advanced our strategic initiatives this quarter, with sequential sales improvement, strong digital growth and a significant increase in profitability. 

“Our team continues to work with urgency to accelerate our progress and invest in our capabilities to better serve customers and profitably grow sales. Our primary focus is on three areas: improving Nordstrom Rack performance, increasing profitability and optimizing our supply chain and inventory flow. Our progress has given us line of sight to achieve in the coming year the financial targets we presented at our 2021 Investor Event.”