About a month or so ago Fortune Magazine drops into my mail slot. As usual I scan the rag, all the business tips, insights and covert-innuendo you can muster. Like it, love it, whatever. I say read them all.

Anyway there was this article Mall Star Analyst. You can scan through a version of the story without pictures over at money.cnn.com (February 28, 2006).

A quick summary: Bob Buchanan (BB) picks the players in retail for the boys on Wall Street, he accesses companies from the consumer perspective. By visiting the stores in person, Mr. Buchanan is able to gather data you won’t find on spreadsheets and financial statements. However, this method has earned BB, the best record for picking stock the past 12 months in the multiline retail.

[sidenote]
Paul Pressler CEO of Gap inc., known to most of us as the Gap, who Bob Buchanan kindly rated as a “hold” but pretty much slammed in the Mall Star article, incidently is in the most recent Fortune’s (April 17,2006) issue discussing how to bring the company back into focus in an article entitield Fashion Victim.
[/sidenote]

Also in the article was Nordstrom, who was rated as by BB as a BUY.

Nordstrom still has the family at the helm. Blake Nordstrom, great-grandson of the founder is the comapny president. BB said “Blake get’s it” and here’s why.

The company has taken advantage of today’s technology, using Oracle as its database backdrop. Nordstrom always has a handle on where items are, whether be it in transit or store location. Store clerks can easily confirm how many items are in stock.

To these points BigBerries confirms, whenever shopping at one of the local Nordstrom locations (there are several), clerks are able to readily locate the items needed. Just recently there was a pair of shoes, which weren’t available, as usual the clerk located a pair in another store and then offered to ship it to my house, the store or the moon (they do aim to please).

The staff is almost always eager to help and mostly full of smiles.

Another thing that is of importance is the appearance of the clerks. I do appreciate the staff looking as if they care about their appearance. The men wear ties or blazers and the women generally have appropriate attire for their positions.

Nordstrom understands that courtesy and kindness is a sure way to get me to empty my pockets.

Mark them as sweet!

Visit Nordstrom


- BigBerries