nordstromrackcityplace

nordstromrackcityplace Photo by Dennis Dean

Citing the presence of three nearby stores that it has opened in recent years, Seattle-based Nordstrom announced this week that it would be permanently closings its Rack location at City Place come January. 

As the Pike at Rainbow Harbor readies for its transformation into The Outlets at The Pike, the loss of Nordstrom after 11 years is a hit for the City Place retail complex, which has recently offset losses along Pine Ave. by filling some of its larger empty storefronts with business like Fresh & Easy.

“We still hope to do business in Long Beach in the future, but with our lease set to expire and having opened three nearby locations in recent years, this is the right time to not renew our lease, close our store at that location and look to the future,” said Nordstrom Rack President Geevy Thomas. “Our hope is that eventually we can find another great location where we can better serve our customers.”

At the time of its opening in August 2002, the 33,000-square foot store was the only one of its kind in the greater Long Beach area. Today, however, the company has launched Nordstrom Racks nearby in Lakewood and Hungtington Beach as well as a third one that just opened last month at the new South Bay Marketplace in Redondo Beach. 

Nordstrom Rack anticipates that with the number of nearby stores, those Long Beach Rack employees who want to continue on with the company and are eligible to do so will likely have a position available for them.

A severance package will be available for eligible employees who don’t take on roles at the other locations but stay with the City Place Nordstrom Rack until closing, Thomas said.

“We thank our valued Long Beach customers for their 12 years of loyalty,” said Thomas. “We look forward to serving them through our store’s January 2014 closure and in our three nearby Nordstrom Racks, and possibly another Long Beach location, into the future.”

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