Nordstrom responds to activist Ryan Cohen

Spokesperson: Nordstrom is open to hearing Mr. Cohen’s views

Already one of Nordstrom’s five biggest non-insider shareholders, meme-stock investor and GameStop chairman Ryan Cohen is reportedly upping his stake in the company, sending shares for the department store chain upward.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
JWN NORDSTROM INC. 22.25 -0.41 -1.81%

Shares gained over 20% on Friday on the news. 

Cohen joined GameStop's board in January 2021 after RC Ventures amassed a 13% stake in the video game retailer. In June 2021, he was elected as GameStop's board chairman.  (Photos: Wikipedia Commons / Getty Images CC BY-SA 2.0 )

A Nordstrom spokesperson told FOX Business on Friday, "While Mr. Cohen hasn’t sought any discussions with us in several years, we are open to hearing his views, as we do with all Nordstrom shareholders."

"While Mr. Cohen hasn’t sought any discussions with us in several years, we are open to hearing his views, as we do with all Nordstrom shareholders. We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interests of the company and our shareholders." 

- Nordstrom Spokesperson

NORDSTROM SHARES SURGE

"We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interests of the company and our shareholders," the spokesperson added.

A representative for Cohen has declined comment on the matter. 

According to the Wall Street Journal Cohen is interested in shaking up the board including ousting director Mark Tritton, the former CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond. 

Cohen joined GameStop's board in January 2021 after RC Ventures amassed a 13% stake in the video game retailer. In June 2021, he was elected as GameStop's board chairman. ____ NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 05: EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Tar

Cohen became active in shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, helped oust Tritton, before liquidating, the retailer is now teetering on bankruptcy.

Cohen made his fortune by founding online pet retailer Chewy.com. 

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Bruce Nordstrom, the founder, is the largest single shareholder, owning 15.7% of shares outstanding. His son Erik is CEO, while his other son, Peter, is president and chief brand officer. 

In January Nordstrom's reported a 3.5% drop in holiday sales for the nine week period. 

"The holiday season was highly promotional, and sales were softer than pre-pandemic levels. While we continue to see greater resilience in our higher income cohorts, it is clear that consumers are being more selective with their spending given the broader macro environment," said Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom, Inc. in the company update. 

Nordstrom-NYC Photographer: Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Shares of the upscale retailer are little changed over the past 52 weeks. 

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 Nordstrom's will report earnings on March 2nd.