Historical Essay: Nordstrom IncA common household name, Nordstrom is known throughout the world but their empire is primarily located in America. A sophisticated department store, this popular chain was founded more than a century ago in a small shoe shop. Over the years this company has been passed down from generation to generation and has evolved into the modern and trendy company we know it as today. John W. Nordstrom was just a sixteen-year-old Swedish immigrant when he arrived in Minnesota in 1887, with only five dollars to his name and not a word of English. In 1899 he moved to Seattle, where he opened a shoe store with a shoemaker named Carl Wallin, whom he had met in Alaska, and the store opened in 1901. The two young men had no idea of ​​the industry they were about to build. Business picked up quickly. In 1905 the business continued to grow and in 1923 the partners opened a second store. But in 1928 John Nordstrom decided to retire at age 57, passing his share to his two sons. The following year his partner Wallin also retired and sold his share to the next generation of Nordstrom. In 1930, without Wallin, the next generation decided to change the name of the shoe store to Nordstroms. The business from which John Nordstrom retired was much larger than it was the year it was founded in 1901. The next generation of Nordstroms recognized their responsibility to expand on their father's success, so in 1929 they doubled the size of their Seattle store. During the 1930s the stores managed to succeed during the Great Depression, but faced a new threat during World War II, when leather rationing prevented U.S. consumers from purchasing more than three pairs of shoes a year. In the postwar decades, the Nordstrom brothers were… middle of paper… ugh considered innovative in many industries, Nordstrom had stayed away from major investments in systems technology before the mid-1990s. A new information system was installed in 1995, along with a new system for processing personnel, payroll and benefits. In late 1998 the company launched its online store at nordstrom.com. Nordstrom shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in June 1999. Simple John Nordstrom from Sweden was just another immigrant with a dream and had no idea of ​​the empire his modest shoe store would one day become. Over one hundred years after he and Wallin started business together, Nordstroms is one of the largest department stores in the world and continues to grow every day. Over the years this company has been passed down from generation to generation and has evolved into the modern and trendy company we know it as today.