Nordstrom in Orem closing its doors

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Say goodbye to the perfumed and designer drenched rooms of University Mall’s Nordstrom. On Friday, Nordstrom president and director, Blake Nordstrom,  announced the Orem store is closing in February because of inability to turn a profit.

“After 10 years of being part of the Orem community, this was a tough decision to make,” Nordstrom said in a news release. “Despite our team’s best effort, this store hasn’t ever performed to the level we need it to and it just doesn’t make good business sense to continue operating here.”

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After 10 years at University Mall, Nordstrom will close in February.
The Nordstrom at University Mall in Orem will close Feb. 24, 2012.

Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson said there will be a place for the 170 non-seasonal employees who want to continue working for Nordstrom.

“There is never a good time to close a store down, but with the Nordstrom in the City Creek Shopping Center opening up in Salt Lake soon, we figured this was as good a time as any,” Johnson said.

Johnson also said employees will be able to choose between the City Creek store, several Nordstrom Racks in the valley and the Nordstrom at Fashion Place mall in Murray.

At least one Nordstrom employee said the closing fits perfectly with his life plans.

“I was planning on quitting right about the time the store is now closing, actually,” said Kevin Reed, an employee studying archaeology at UVU. “I’m going to Peru around then for an archaeology expedition and was going to have to leave and reapply anyway.”

Johnson said the business was not shutting down in Orem because of any lack of performance on the part of its employees.

“We have a terrific team at the store and have just been so grateful for the opportunity to serve our customers since 2002,” he said.
The store’s closure did not come as much of a surprise for Ruth Kindt, a recent student at BYU-Idaho and current resident in Provo.
“Given that half the town are poor college students and can’t afford to shop there anyway,” Kindt said. “The fact of the matter is they don’t have a consumer base. They were bound to fail, particularly in this economic climate.”
Talmage Spackman,  a BYU senior studying business, said shopping at Nordstrom does not fit into his budget.
“I don’t go there to shop because it’s not in my price range,” Spackman said. “I shop at Macy’s.”
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