51ºÚÁÏ

And about 30 personal stylists have been trained to help customers put together outfits from designer brands such as Diane von Furstenburg and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

It's finally show time for the long-awaited Nordstrom, which opens today at the 51ºÚÁÏ Galleria. When the doors swing open this morning, three members of the Nordstrom family — Blake, Pete and Jamie — will stand alongside employees and applaud as the first customers walk in.

Joining them in spirit will be nearby retailers who have been cheering the arrival of the mall's newest addition.

Retail experts say Nordstrom's presence at the Galleria will likely solidify its prominence as the highest-performing mall in the region. Its arrival has already helped draw other retailers to the mall, many of whom have been angling for spots close to the new, 143,000-square-foot department store.

The Galleria store also is notable in that it is one of the last new stores currently planned by the Seattle-based retailer.

Nordstrom is a high-quality anchor store that can't help but enhance the appeal of the Galleria, said Martin Sneider, an adjunct retailing professor at Washington University.

"I think Nordstrom will help (the Galleria) recruit some of the more affluent customers that may have abandoned it over time," he said.

The mall has developed a bit of a 'split personality" over the years in terms of having higher-end offerings like Coach and Lacoste alongside more run-of-the-mill mall stores such as Aeropostale and Forever 21, he said. But with the addition of Nordstrom, Sneider said he wouldn't be surprised to see a higher proportion of upscale retailers now coming to the mall.

When many retailers new to 51ºÚÁÏ enter this market, the Galleria and surrounding Richmond Heights and Brentwood area is often the area they want to be in, said Kristin Keane, director of property services for Pace Properties, which handles the leases for The Boulevard and Brentwood Square. She pointed to Crate & Barrel, the Container Store, and Nordstrom Rack as some examples.

"The more great shopping you have concentrated in this area, it further validates that this trade area remains the strongest in St. Louis," she said.

The Galleria is the most productive mall in the region, doing about $585 in sales per square foot. It is followed by Plaza Frontenac at $500 in sales per square foot and West County Center with $465.

Erik Nordstrom, the retailer's executive vice president, said the company tries to put its stores in the best shopping centers. It has eyed the Galleria since it first looked at the 51ºÚÁÏ market, but there wasn't space for it until the Lord & Taylor department store there closed in 2006.

"It's always been on our list," he said of the Galleria. "The Galleria is a terrific shopping mall. We think we're in the two best spots in the region."

Nordstrom is putting more upscale and designer offerings into its Galleria store compared with its first and only other full-line department store in the region — its store at West County Center, which opened in 2002. The West County store has had "tremendous growth" in sales in the last several years, which also spurred the company's interest in adding a second store, he added.

Earl Dorsett, general manager of Galleria, said other retailers have shown a lot of interest in coming to the mall as the opening date for Nordstrom has drawn nearer.

In the last two years, more than 20 new stores have opened in the mall, including True Religion, Vera Bradley, Bailey Banks & Biddle, and Love Culture. And he said several stores have recently completed or are in the midst of remodels such as Swarovski and Ann Taylor.

BlackFinn American Grille is going into the former Mark Shale space — and Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina is moving next door to it, too.

During the construction of Nordstrom, Laurie's Shoes was given a temporary spot on the second floor. It later chose a space right next to Nordstrom on the first floor, said Mark Waldman, the company's president.

"We feel being right to it is a complement for both us and Nordstrom," he said.

He and other nearby retailers in the area have forecast that their sales will rise 15 to 20 percent once Nordstrom opens and brings a flow of traffic to that wing of the mall.

Just last week, the Disney Store opened its first and only store in the region at the Galleria next to Nordstrom. The retailer closed its four local stores a few years ago and has since revamped its store model.

Jim Fielding, the company's president, said he is being more selective with new locations and prefers to go to premier malls.

"We'll have this one great store in the 51ºÚÁÏ Galleria, and that will be it for the market," he said.

But the addition of Nordstrom has not been good news to all retailers in the mall. A couple of stores such as Splash have left in recent years because they say the mall tried to raise rents using the new Nordstrom as justification.

Impact on other malls

Nordstrom officials have been upfront that the West County store may take a hit once the Galleria store opens. But they expect business to rebound and level out after awhile.

Sneider thinks the Plaza Frontenac and West County Center might have a dip in sales in the short term. But the Plaza Frontenac customer is a higher-end customer overall who is more interested in luxury stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, he said.

"I don't see Frontenac at risk as much as I do West County," he said. "I think Frontenac has an older, wealthier customer who will certainly stop by to see the Nordstrom store but will stay with their roots in Frontenac."

Mall operator General Growth Properties owns both the Galleria and Plaza Frontenac.

Doug Moss, manager of Plaza Frontenac's Saks store, which is rumored to be doing a major remodel soon, said he's not too worried about the new Nordstrom affecting his sales.

"Nordstrom is a great competitor," he said. "But they've been in the market for a while already."

West County has momentum going for it, too, especially because it was remodeled and revamped in recent years, Pace's Keane noted.

"West County has developed its own little niche," she said. "Their sales per square foot are pretty strong, and the mall seems to be doing well there."

Sean Phillips, regional marketing director of CBL & Associates, which owns five malls in the region including West County Center, said in a statement, "Nordstrom is a valued tenant at West County Center, and we extend best wishes on the new store's opening and wish them continued success in the 51ºÚÁÏ market."

While many department store chains have been shuttering underperforming stores, Nordstrom is one of the few still growing. It has opened more than 40 new department stores since 2000, including six in the last two years. The Galleria store is its 118th.

But after this, the company is slowing down a bit, Erik Nordstrom said. It will open a relocated store in Salt Lake City next year, and then there's just one more store planned in Puerto Rico after that. There's not a lot of new mall developments these days, he said.

So for now, the retailer is focusing on increasing sales at existing stores. And he expects that most of the company's growth will come in online sales rather than in more new stores.

In any case, the retailer has outperformed many of its counterparts coming out of the Great Recession. It grew net sales by 13 percent last year to $9.3 billion.

So what's the secret to its success?

Nordstrom said it's a mix of staying true to its roots with good customer service and by constantly bringing in new products.

"Our results are really tied closely to how fresh our inventory is," he said. "Our customers want the latest fashions. That flow of newness in our stores has been vital to our business."