Nordstrom Inc.’s executive vice president and chief financial officer Mike Koppel will retire from the company in the spring, giving the company time between now and then to find a successor.
He said he will support the search for a new cfo and assist with the transition. Koppel joined Nordstrom in 1999 and has been the cfo since 2001.
“We are extremely grateful for all of the contributions Mike has made over his 17 years as a leader at Nordstrom,” said Blake Nordstrom, copresident of Nordstrom Inc. “Mike has played an integral role in our company’s story, helping guide us through significant periods of expansion, growth and investment. He has provided our company with tremendous knowledge and strategic financial expertise that has always been grounded with an unwavering focus on taking care of the customer. He will be sorely missed and we wish him the absolute best in his well-deserved retirement.”
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Nordstrom also said Monday that it plans to hire approximately 11,400 seasonal employees for Nordstrom full-line and Nordstrom Rack stores, as well as in its fulfillment and distribution centers that support the stores, nordstrom.com, nordstromrack.com, HauteLook and Trunk Club.
“During the busy holiday season, we need to add great people to our teams who are excited to help us serve Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Hautelook and Trunk Club customers,” said Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores. “This is a fantastic opportunity to get your foot in the door with the company, take care of customers, gain some great experience and possibly, start a career with us.”
The level of hiring is close to last year’s when Nordstrom hired about 11,800 seasonal workers. The company said it is seeking approximately 9,500 people in sales and stock positions at its 123 Nordstrom stores in the U.S. and Canada and 213 Nordstrom Rack stores in the U.S.; 1,900 people to support the company’s stores and e-commerce business across all shifts in receiving, stock, picking and packing at its fulfillment centers located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Elizabethtown, Pa., and San Bernardino, Calif.; and its distribution centers located in Portland, Ore.; Dubuque, Iowa; Ontario and Newark, Calif.; Gainesville, Fla., and Upper Marlboro, Md.
Benefits include merchandise discounts at Nordstrom, Nordstrom.com, Nordstrom Rack and Hautelook.
Other retailers including Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target have also reported that their seasonal level of hiring for the holiday season would be even with last year’s. Kohl’s is hiring more than 69,000 seasonal workers; Macy’s, 83,000, and Target is hiring 70,000.
As previously reported, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. expects seasonal hiring to hold steady to the level seen last year, when employment in the sector increased by 738,800 for the last three months of the year.
“The big change we are seeing is that while seasonal retail jobs remain flat or shrink, there has been a marked increase in seasonal job gains in other sectors,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “The sector with the biggest increase in holiday hiring in recent years has been transportation and warehousing, as more and more holiday shopping is done online.”