Life as the Intern

Mr. Nordstrom

It is not every day that you walk into one of the country's most beloved fashion department stores and come face to face with a member of the company's founding family. Think back to earlier this summer when I mentioned I would be interning at Nordstrom...ring a bell? In case you were wondering, yes, that would explain my absence all summer. What can I say? I have been extremely busy being the "New Emily" as Miranda Priestly would say. 


Anyways, I never thought in a million years would I ever get to meet a namesake of one of my all time favorite stores! However, that is exactly what happened when Jaime Nordstrom walked through the doors one Monday morning. Jamie is the cousin of the company's president, Blake Nordstrom, and is currently the company's president of stores. He is also one of the most down to Earth people you will every meet. We got a chance to talk with him about all things life and Nordstrom! Here are a few things we learned:

On his start in the stock room at age 12:


“You learn a lot about the world in the stockroom…and there’s lots of cussing. Almost 100 percent of our employees start in sales because it seems ridiculous to have someone manage something they have never done. They would not understand how hard it is.”


Advise for being successful:


“Outcome is the most important thing. Think about the outcome. Get results for the assignment you are in. It is not about looks, popularity, or GPA. It is about whoever is consistently getting results.”


On shopping for himself:


“Yes, I shop for myself. But when I'm not working I look like a homeless person. I'm usually in jeans, a Northface sweatshirt, and tennis shoes…[And] I mostly shop online because I don’t like to be sold to.”


On what is next for Nordstrom:


“Moving to New York! The store is expected to be 6-7x more expensive [to build] than our other stores. Also continuing to open Racks. There is a lot of business out there for the taking and growing opportunities and [for] taking business somewhere new!”

Getting to sit down and talk with Jamie was an eye opening experience. It was humbling to see that even though his last name is printed on 90 percent of the receipts spilling out of my wallet, he started out just like everyone else in the company. This was definitely one of the greatest moments of my internship and an experience I'll never forget.

Vivre dans le luxe,
Jordin