Analysts think Nordstrom will stick with one LV store for now

Tuesday, May 25, 1999 | 11:36 a.m.

Las Vegas is finally getting a Nordstrom department store. Is a second local outlet on the horizon anytime soon?

Some have speculated that to achieve economies of scale in Las Vegas, establishing two or more stores at one time would be in Nordstrom's plans.

But Nordstrom has no set policy on whether to locate multiple stores in a market. It has three full-size stores in the Salt Lake City market, but just one full-size store and one smaller rack store in the larger Phoenix market.

While store executives are noncommittal, experts who follow the real estate industry say a second store isn't likely here for several years.

George Connor, senior vice president of the retail division of Colliers International, Las Vegas, said the company should adequately cover its bases in Las Vegas with its planned three-level, 225,000-square-foot store -- one of the largest stores Nordstrom plans to build in coming years.

With Summerlin only 15 minutes away from the store at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino via a still-incomplete Las Vegas Beltway, Connor doesn't believe a second store would be necessary for several years.

"They might look at something more when the population (of the Las Vegas Valley) reaches 3 million or so," Connor said. "That could be a good 10 years down the road."

Kit Graski, first vice president of CB Richard Ellis, who specializes in off-Strip retail, said he things Las Vegas is likely to be a one-store site for Nordstrom in the immediate future.

"Because of its unique market, Nordstrom will have the ability to draw customers from the whole city," Graski said. "They won't need any more than one store."

Wally Chester, executive vice president of Westcor Partners, the leasing agent for the mall, said Nordstrom probably would prefer to develop a property in a dominant, established mall rather than build a second store from the ground up.

That seemingly would eliminate a location in a planned new regional mall near Summerlin. Some had speculated that would be likely candidate for a second store.

But for Nordstrom, it's just a relief to wrap up negotiations on the first store.

"We wanted to get off on the right foot (in Las Vegas) and really get it right," said Nordstrom Co-President Pete Nordstrom of the first store. "This one's it."