Friday, January 07, 2000
Developer pitches site to Nordstrom
Retailer won't talk about offer
BY JEFF McKINNEY and LISA BIANK FASIG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. has made its first formal proposal to Nordstrom Inc. to entice the trendy Seattle-based retailer to build a store in downtown Cincinnati.
Western-Southern sent the retailer a plan outlining what the Cincinnati-based insurer would offer the merchant if it should build a store at the vacant site at Fifth and Race streets.
But the proposal clearly does not mean that Nordstrom, one of the nation's most desirable retailers, is coming to the Queen City.
Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White declined to confirm Thursday whether the upscale retailer even received a proposal or letter from Western-Southern.
“We don't talk about potential sites we are considering unless we do have a signed letter of intent,” she said. “We just flat out don't talk about it.”
Western-Southern would not disclose details of the proposal — what it's calling a letter of intent. Company spokesman Herb Brown said Nordstrom's acceptance of the proposal would be “major” and would take both companies to “the next level” in negotiations.
“What's important is we feel good enough about how far talks have progressed, and that's why we sent the proposal,” he said.
When asked whether the proposal includes any new incentives, concessions or elements not presented thus far to Nordstrom in negotiations, Western-Southern said it will not discuss those issues publicly because the matters are private between both sides.
Western-Southern refused to say when it sent the proposal.
But news of the plan came six days after expiration of an agreement between the city and Western-Southern that either party could terminate that agreement by late 2000 if a lease has not been signed with a major department store. The city manager had the option as of Jan. 1, to terminate Western-Southern as site developer.
The city owns the Fifth and Race site. Eagle Realty Group, the real-estate subsidiary of Western-Southern, is its developer.
City Manager John Shirey said he was unaware of a letter sent by Western-Southern and questioned its importance.
“What does a letter of intent mean?” he said Thursday. “I'll be excited when I see a letter from the board of Nordstrom with signatures on the bottom of it.”
Western-Southern executives acknowledged that part of their rationale for making the proposal public was to update the city about its progress in trying to bring Nordstrom to Cincinnati.
Typically, a retailer interested in a site initiates such a process with the developer.
“We wanted to be aggressive in bringing Nordstrom, not wait on them, because downtown Cincinnati needs them,” Mr. Brown said.
Cincinnati officials confirmed in late 1996 that they were trying to persuade the department store company to open downtown.
Cities compete for Nordstrom because the retailer's air of afflu ence and integrity make the city more desirable for other tenants, and for out-of-town visitors. Considered one of the world's premier retailers, Nordstrom is a magnet for desirable retailers, including J. Crew and high-end furniture chain Restoration Hardware.
Ms. White has said many times in the past several years that Nordstrom would one day like to open a store in Cincinnati as part of its efforts to open a store in each of the country's top markets.
“It's actually (one) that we'd very much love to be in,” she said of Cincinnati. “It's really part of our overall strategy that we'd like to be in the top 50 markets.” Nordstrom is in about half of the markets now.
Nordstrom has already committed to two other Ohio cities: In 1997, it opened a store in Cleveland's tony Beachwood Place mall, and in spring 2001, it will open a store in Easton, a new mixed-use development north of Columbus. It also operates a store in downtown Indianapolis at Circle Centre.
When it might arrive in Cincinnati is an open question. Even though Nordstrom let a year or two lapse between committing to other regional markets, Ms. White said commitment depends more on the opportunities presented.
In general, Ms. Brooke said, Nordstrom likes to be surrounded by good retail competition and in destination centers with lots of choices.
Enquirer reporters Robert Anglen and Lucy May contributed to this report.
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