Business & Tech
Nordstrom Opens for Business at Saint Louis Galleria
The Richmond Heights store opened its doors to customers at 10 a.m. Friday.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people gathered to mark the official opening of the Nordstrom department store at the in .
"It appears we're going to get a lot of new customers," said Pete Nordstrom, the company's president of merchandising. "To have people show up like that is gratifying and rewarding. It's a celebration for our team of employees who have been working so hard to get this store ready to open."
Customers seemed to be equally happy about the new store.
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"We all love Nordstrom enough to wake up three hours earlier," said Victoria Neason, who attended the opening with some friends.
A group of Nordstrom employees from Ohio also came as eager shoppers, dressed in T-shirts they designed that said "Shop Like You Mean It."
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"We went to a opening in Chicago last year and enjoyed it, so we decided to attend one opening every year," Barb Lemon said.
The morning's festivities began at 8 a.m. with a Pre-Opening Beauty Bash, during which guests visited with cosmetics, skin care and fragrance representatives from various brands for demonstrations and tips.
Laksmi Sam, Nordstrom's regional beauty director for the Midwest, emceed the beauty bash.
"Nordstrom cosmetics is the beauty authority," Sam said. "We're proud to show the latest and greatest for the season to our St. Louis customers."
While the beauty bash went on just outside of the store in the mall, store employees inside prepared to count down to the opening. At about 9:45 a.m., they all lined up along the aisles of the store, starting at the mall entrance. Dance music blared, and most of the employees danced and sang along.
At 10 a.m., employees and customers cheered as the doors opened for the start of the business day. After a few moments of fanfare, customers went into shopping mode and scoured the store for the latest fashions.
In addition to clothing and accessories, : the eBar on the first floor and the Cafe Bistro on the second.
The second-floor kids apparel department features some original artwork from St. Louis-area kids. During an event that raised $9,000 for the Saint Louis Zoo, kids painted floor tiles that are now part of the store's architecture. A tile-find party for the kids is planned from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday.
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