Nordstrom set to join Island

Fashion Island is scheduled to get a Nordstrom location in 2010, officials for the Irvine Co. announced Tuesday. The Seattle-based retailer, which operates 156 stores in 28 states, has signed a letter of intent to open a 138,000-square-foot outlet at Fashion Island.

Nordstrom will join anchors Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Macy’s at the open-air mall, which frequently advertises itself as a luxury shopping destination.

“On the coup scale, I think this is big,� said Keith Eyrich, the Irvine Co.’s president of retail properties. “It’s going to be an important new day for Fashion Island.

“Nordstrom is a terrific retailer, and I know it will resonate with our customer base. They’ll have a big following from day one. It kind of ups the luxury factor at Fashion Island, and that’s a good thing.�

Nordstrom operates other nearby locations at South Coast Plaza and the Irvine Spectrum Center; the former store was the company’s first in California. Werner Escher, South Coast Plaza’s executive director of domestic and international markets, said he didn’t expect the Fashion Island Nordstrom to take away business from South Coast Plaza.

“There’s enchantment, as it were, to be found at both places, and when I say enchantment, it’s axiomatic that when people travel, they shop,� Escher said.

“Today, shopping is an important part of the itinerary. So people who come to experience either South Coast Plaza or Fashion Island engage in window shopping, and with the fact that impulse buying plays such a big part in the shopping environment, you have enough shops at both centers to provide the incentive and the impulse for any visitor to pop into any one of the stores.�

The Fashion Island Nordstrom is expected to occupy a new building in the spot of the former Macy’s Women’s store.

Eyrich said builders would likely start construction in January 2009, shortly before Fashion Island plans to open a West Coast flagship store of the luxury food retailer Dean & DeLuca.

Richard Luehrs, president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, called the acquisition of Nordstrom a boon to the retail community.

“As far as the local economy is concerned, Nordstrom is highly regarded,� he said. “They do a great job, and we expect them to do a fair amount of business in Fashion Island.�