Nordstrom is led by brothers Erik and Pete, chief executive officer, and president and chief brand officer, respectively, and their cousin Jamie, who serves as chief merchandising officer.

Traditional department stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s have struggled to maintain market share as middle-income families have been shifting much of their shopping to discounters and e-commerce. Restoring the luster Nordstrom department stores once had, and getting out from under the glare of Wall Street, is the basis for Nordstrom going private. A privately held Nordstrom isn’t expected to diverge much from its current priorities, notably its aggressive expansion of the Rack off-price chain, pursuit of greater digital growth and much-needed comp gains at the Nordstrom upscale department stores. So far, the strategy has born some fruit.

For a long time, Wall Street has taken a dim view of Nordstrom and most department stores. Nordstrom’s Manhattan flagship has been gaining popularity, but the company spent far more than it initially expected on building the store, which had the unfortunate timing of opening just before the pandemic hit.