Nordstrom is one of Americans most successful department store fashion retailers. John Nordstrom, a Swedish immigrant, established the company in 1901 with a single shoe store in Seattle. From the start, Nordstroms approach to business was to provide exceptional customer service and product selection, quality, and value. This approach remains Nordstroms hallmark today.

The modern Nordstrom is a fashion specialty chain with more than 100 high-end full-price department stores across the United States, and another 250 off-price Nordstrom Rack stores. Nordstrom generated almost $15 billion in sales in 2022. Between 2012 and 2022, Nordstroms returns on invested capital averaged 14% annually (which is good for a retailer), even though the company was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Nordstrom returned to profitability in fiscal 2022 and seems set to return to its long-term history of outperformance.

Apply the VRIO framework and describe to what extent these resources can be considered valuable, rare, inimitable, and well organized.