Nordstrom 2007 Annual Report Download - page 5

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We also continued to invest time and resources in developing our leaders. While there is never a finish line, we worked
hard during 2007 to accelerate our salespeople’s selling skills to better serve customers and drive results. Last year,
our best sellers were 7% more productive. We believe that is significant, because our top sellers set the bar and in turn
raise the performance level of all our people.
Every day we are reminded of the entrepreneurial spirit of the people who run this business as if it is their own. We are
fortunate to have people like Chris Sharma, who works in Men’s Furnishings at our Tysons Corner Center store. Chris has been
our company’s top performing salesperson for a number of years now and he had another outstanding year, increasing his sales
5.9% and exceeding $2 million for the third consecutive year.
We are also making an effort to attract the best new talent. For example, we are currently in our third year of an internship
partnership with three prominent design schools — Parsons the New School for Design in New York, Otis College of Art and Design
in Los Angeles and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco — to create opportunities for promising young designers
in our product development area.
While there may be current economic issues faced by the industry and our customers, we feel we are well positioned now — and for
the future. We have plenty of room to improve market share and share of our customers’ wallet. We are also in a strong financial
position to respond to opportunities that may present themselves.
On behalf of all of us at Nordstrom, thank you for your continued support. We look forward to continuing to improve our business
and results to warrant your ongoing trust.
Sincerely,
Blake W. Nordstrom
President, Nordstrom, Inc.