Nordstrom Gives Wall Street The Middle Finger in a Last Ditch Effort to Save Their Dying Legacy

In a sad turn of events… Nordstrom, a name once synonymous with high-end retail and effortless sophistication, is bidding farewell to the public markets. In a $6.25 billion buyout deal with Mexican retail powerhouse El Puerto de Liverpool (no, not the soccer team), Nordstrom is going private… a dramatic turn for a 123-year-old brand that’s been limping along like a three-legged dog in a fashion show.


For shareholders, the payout is $24.25 per share in cash. Sure, it’s a bit better than the $23-per-share floated in September and an 8.3% premium over the stock’s recent closing price, but let’s not forget the glory days when Nordstrom stock was worth $50 a pop in 2018. Back then, the company gave an $8.4 billion buyout offer a hard pass. (Bet they regret that one now—big “we don’t need you anyway” energy aged like milk.)

Once the paperwork’s signed (likely in the first half of 2025) the Nordstrom family will hold 50.1% of the company while Liverpool takes the rest. Liverpool, which joined Nordstrom’s shareholder ranks in 2022, operates over 170 department stores in Mexico and raked in $7.7 billion in revenue last year. They clearly know their way around retail, which Nordstrom could use right about now.

Nordstrom’s decision to abandon public markets wasn’t exactly shocking. Its stock has tanked 40% over the past five years, and annual revenue, which peaked at $15.9 billion in 2018, is still shy of pre-pandemic levels, hanging out at $15.3 billion in 2023. Then there are the profit margins: a pitiful 3.7% average over three years compared to the industry median of 20.5%. (If Nordstrom were a student, its report card would read “needs improvement” in every subject.)

The challenges don’t stop there. Inflation is draining wallets, Amazon continues its reign as the ultimate retail villain, and even Nordstrom Rack, the company’s discount chain, saw same-store sales drop 5% in Q3 2023. It’s hard to sell $200 yoga pants when TJ Maxx is offering the same vibe for $19.99.

That’s where Liverpool, the Mexican retail giant with a $14 billion market cap and a talent for blending e-commerce with brick-and-mortar shopping, takes the stage. Liverpool isn’t just a random billionaire fund to throw money at the problem… they bring expertise in logistics and an integrated retail approach that Nordstrom sorely needs. Oh, and they’ve got a credit business that makes up 16% of their revenue, which could open doors for Nordstrom to shake up its own customer strategies.

This privatization move is way more than just escaping quarterly earnings calls with angry boomer shareholders. Erik and Pete Nordstrom seem to think they can get this train back on the road way better without Wall Street breathing down their necks. They’ll need to address their lagging digital sales (which account for 40% of revenue but still feel outdated), figure out how to make Nordstrom Rack profitable again, and maybe even take a stab at international expansion with Liverpool’s help.

Whether this last ditch effort pays off is anyone’s guess. What’s clear is that Nordstrom is betting its future on a fresh start, free from the public market’s relentless scrutiny. Time will tell if the Nordstrom family can turn this storied brand into a retail comeback story… or if they’ll just end up investing their money in real estate and sit back.

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Stock.News has positions in Nordstrom, Amazon, and Microsoft mentioned in article.