Music at Nordstrom will no longer be confined to a pianist playing in the store. No, the department store chain is looking to broaden its musical horizons and add to its coffers when it begins selling CDs from musical greats and new artists, some on an exclusive basis, in company stores and online.
The department store chain plans to rollout its musical offering initially to stores on the West Coast this month and to all its locations next year. Music titles will be available for sale online. The chain plans to offer around 20 titles, initially, with that number going up to around 50 next year.
Nordstrom moves into the music business following the success of another Seattle icon, Starbucks. The coffee chain, which views itself as a lifestyle company and not just an operator of coffee shops, has enjoyed tremendous success with exclusives from musical legends such as Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.
"We want to sell products our customers are interested in," said Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising, in a company press release. "Music and fashion are similarly aligned -- we're encouraged by the response we've received from the music industry to collaborate on some compelling music. This is a new category for us and we're excited to give it a try."
Michael E. Barber, founder and president of Barber Entertainment Corp., will work with Nordstrom to produce, market and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music in cooperation with record labels and artists.
"The music landscape is quickly changing as people are buying their music in many different places," said Mr. Barber. "The overwhelming majority of music is still purchased from retail stores, and Nordstrom has an incredible opportunity to make great music available in one of everyone's favorite places to shop."
Nordstrom is looking for early sales success with two compilations of holiday songs. The first: "A Nordstrom Classic Holiday" includes popular recordings such as "Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole and "Winter Wonderland" by Bing Crosby. The second: "A Nordstrom Modern Holiday" is a compilation of contemporary holiday tunes from artists including John Lennon and Liz Phair.
Discussion Question: What are your thoughts on Nordstrom's venture into music retailing?
A New York Times article said that after visiting Starbucks and Pottery Barn, which also sell music titles, Peter Nordstrom came back and wanted to know why Nordstrom was not doing the same thing.
Mr. Nordstrom is looking to make money selling CDs - otherwise, he said, he wouldn't pursue the venture.
"The traditional way people bought music in the past is clearly changing. We want to take advantage of the fact that we have a lot of customers coming through our doors that the music industry is interested in," he said.