Everett W. Nordstrom (January 13, 1903 – July 1, 1972) was an American businessman and former chairman and CEO of

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

, the department store chain founded by his father,

John W. Nordstrom John W. Nordstrom (born Johan Wilhelm Nordström, ; February 15, 1871 – October 11, 1963) was a Swedish American businessman who was the co-founder of the Nordstrom department store chain. Background He was born Johan Wilhelm Nordström (later ...

Early life

He was born on January 13, 1903, the first son of

and Hilda Carlson. He graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

in 1923.

Career

In 1928, John W. Nordstrom retired and sold his shares of Wallin & Nordstrom to his two eldest sons, Everett and

Elmer Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

. The following year Carl Wallin also retired and sold his shares to them. 1930 saw the company change its name to Nordstrom. In 1933, the third son Lloyd joined. They ran the business as co-presidents. The three brothers focused on good value and quality, coupled with customer service, and by the 1960s, had the largest independent shoe store chain in the US, and the largest store in the country in downtown Seattle. In 1963, they bought Best Apparel, a Seattle-based women's clothing store, followed by a

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

fashion retail store in 1966. They now offered shoes and clothing for all the family under the new name, Nordstrom Best. In 1968, all three brothers retired, allowing the next generation to take over - Everett's son,

Bruce Nordstrom Bruce A. Nordstrom (born October 1, 1933) is an American billionaire businessman, and the former chairman of the retailer Nordstrom, a company founded by his grandfather John W. Nordstrom. He ran the company from 1968 until 1995 and resumed his ...

; Elmer's sons, James and John; Lloyd's son-in-law, Jack McMillan, along with family friend Bob Bender.

Personal life

Everett Nordstrom collapsed and died on July 1, 1972 while playing golf at the Seattle Golf Club. He is buried at the Acacia Memorial Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordstrom, Everett W 1903 births 1972 deaths Businesspeople from Seattle University of Washington alumni American people of Swedish descent

Everett W Everett may refer to: Places Canada * Everett, Ontario, a community in Adjala–Tosorontio, Simcoe County * Everett Mountains, a range on southern Baffin Island in Nunavut United States * Everett, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, Massachu ...

20th-century American businesspeople American retail chief executives