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Non-Tech : JWN - Nordstrom now on NYSE, and with Nordstrom.com -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DADEPFAN who wrote (29)	5/14/2002 4:59:47 PM
From: DADEPFAN	Respond to of 32

UPDATE 1-Nordstrom outlines charges, Web site buyout F May 13, 2002 9:14:00 PM ET (Recasts first paragraph, adds background, details throughout; previous SEATTLE) By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO, May 13 (Reuters) - Department store chain Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) on Monday said it would post up to $86.9 million in first-quarter charges, reflecting the impact of new accounting rules and the $70 million buyout of a minority stake in its Nordstrom.com Internet and catalog business. The upscale Seattle, Washington-based retailer said it expects to record a noncash charge of $21.9 million in the first quarter to mark down the value of goodwill from its October 2000 acquisition of French apparel maker Faconnable. The after-tax impact is expected to be 10 cents per share, the company said. The charge reflects an impairment test required by the new Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, or "FAS 142," which went into effect Feb. 1 and eliminates the routine amortization of goodwill. A Nordstrom spokeswoman said the charge was exclusively related to the $167 million acquisition of Faconnable. After the charge, the goodwill on Nordstrom's balance sheet, counted as part of its intangible assets, will be $116.1 million, the spokeswoman said. Additionally, Nordstrom said it reached an agreement with Palo Alto, California-based Benchmark Capital Partners and Seattle-based Madrona Investment Group to buy their minority interest in the Nordstrom.com Web site for $70 million, most of which will also be recorded as a one-time charge in the first quarter ended April 30. Nordstrom, the fifth largest U.S. upscale retailer whose reputation was built on customer service, said the exact dollar amount of the charge is still being determined, but it is not expected to top an estimated range of $55 million to $65 million. The deal mirrored the buyout by discount retailer Kmart Corp. (KM) of minority stakes in its BlueLight.com Internet storefront, and comes as Sears, Roebuck and Co. (S) , the No. 4 U.S retailer and mail-order retail pioneer, said on Monday it would buy Lands' End Inc. (LE) , the largest catalog and Internet specialty clothing retailer, for about $1.9 billion in cash, in a bid to revive its laggard apparel business. WEB SITE DEAL URGENT Nordstrom, which owns about 85 percent of Nordstrom.com, was under the gun to come up with a deal with Benchmark and Madrona. The two investors would have been able to sell their Nordstrom.com shares -- exercising a put option-- unless Nordstrom made a $100 million investment in e-commerce business by July 1, or if there had not been an initial public offering of the unit by September 1. To keep Benchmark and Madrona from exercising their put option, Nordstrom was under contract to pay market value or up to $80 million to buy their Nordstrom.com shares. "We really feel this is the best path because we can continue to offer our customers multiple channels to shop with us," said Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White. Nordstrom.com was formed in August 1999 in an early and high-profile effort by a traditional, brick-and-mortar retailer to partner with venture capitalists to form an online shopping destination. Nordstrom.com also was formed to consolidate and manage Nordstrom's catalog operations. When the Web site launched it sold a limited amount of apparel. But it featured scores of shoes -- so many shoes it billed itself as the world's biggest shoe store. The Web site now allows customers to shop online for a range of high-end branded goods, including Vera Wang fragrances, Cutter & Buck Inc. (CBUK) apparel and shoes from Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (KCP) Nordstrom.com's combined Internet and catalog sales in the fourth quarter were $78.3 million, compared with $87.5 million a year earlier. Nordstrom last week reported sales at its stores open at least a year fell 1.6 percent in April, while sales in the four weeks ended May 4 rose 3.9 percent. Preliminary first-quarter sales were $1.28 billion, up from $1.25 billion a year earlier, although same-store sales fell 2.1 percent in the quarter. Nordstrom shares closed on Monday at $24.46, up 23 cents, or just under 1 percent. REUTERS © 2002 Reuters