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Wiki Wiki Summary
Risk factor (finance) In finance, risk factors are the building blocks of investing, that help explain the systematic returns in equity market, and the possibility of losing money in investments or business adventures. A risk factor is a concept in finance theory such as the capital asset pricing model, arbitrage pricing theory and other theories that use pricing kernels.
Operations research Operations research (British English: operational research), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of advanced analytical methods to improve decision-making. It is sometimes considered to be a subfield of mathematical sciences.
Subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that belong to the same parent company are called sister companies.
Preference (economics) In economics and other social sciences, preference is the order that an agent gives to alternatives based on their relative utility, a process which results in an optimal "choice" (whether real or theoretical). Preferences are evaluations, they concern matters of value, typically in relation to practical reasoning.
Allocative efficiency Allocative efficiency is a state of the economy in which production is aligned with consumer preferences; in particular, every good or service is produced up to the point where the last unit provides a marginal benefit to consumers equal to the marginal cost of producing.\n\n\n== Description ==\nIn contract theory, allocative efficiency is achieved in a contract in which the skill demanded by the offering party and the skill of the agreeing party are the same.
Merchandiser A merchandiser is an arcade gaming device, which features a machine that contains a display of merchandise, which can be won by playing the game.\nIn the trade, such games are described as "skill with prize" (SWP) games, and are a hybrid of games of skill and games of chance, with the preponderance of skill or chance differing between devices and often able to be set by the operator.
Grocery store A grocery store (AE), grocery shop (BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries.
Personal development Personal development or self improvement consists of activities that develop a person's capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development may take place over the course of an individual's entire lifespan and is not limited to one stage of a person's life.
Technological singularity The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. According to the most popular version of the singularity hypothesis, called intelligence explosion, an upgradable intelligent agent will eventually enter a "runaway reaction" of self-improvement cycles, each new and more intelligent generation appearing more and more rapidly, causing an "explosion" in intelligence and resulting in a powerful superintelligence that qualitatively far surpasses all human intelligence.
Medallia Medallia is an American customer and employee experience management company based in San Francisco, California, with offices in Buenos Aires, London, Tel Aviv, Munich, Paris, New York City, Washington DC, Austin and Sydney.\nMedallia provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) customer experience management (CEM) and employee experience management (employee engagement) software to hospitality, retail, financial services, high-tech, and business-to-business (B2B) companies internationally.
Future Leaders of the World Future Leaders of the World is a rock band formed in 2003. The band released their debut album, LVL IV in 2004, before going through a period of being named Machina, featuring former Evanescence members guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray.
Indonesian Future Leaders Indonesian Future Leaders (IFL) is a non-profit organization which focuses its activity on youth empowerment and social voluntarism. It was founded on September 27, 2009 by 7 youths aged 17–18 to nurture Indonesia’s future leaders who are capable of being the agent of change for their community.
Future Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Culture is often originated from or attributed to a specific region or location.
Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity.
Long-term effects of alcohol The long-term heavy consumption of alcohol (alcohol use disorder) can cause severe detrimental effects. Health effects associated with alcohol intake in large amounts include an increased risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, malnutrition, chronic pancreatitis, erectile dysfunction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, gastritis, stomach ulcers, alcoholic liver disease, certain types of dementia, and several types of cancer.
International assignment An international assignment is an overseas task set by a company to an employee. Companies that engage in international assignments are mainly multinational corporations (MNCs).
PetSmart PetSmart is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco.
Microsoft Store Microsoft Store (formerly known as Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It started as an app store for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps.
Direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power.
Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethically oriented practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy, that time has passed as various national and international laws have been developed.
Added value A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end consumer.
Sustainable growth rate According to PIMS (profit impact of marketing strategy), an important lever of business success is growth. Among 37 variables, growth is mentioned as one of the most important variables for success: market share, market growth, marketing expense to sales ratio or a strong market position.The question how much growth is sustainable is answered by two concepts with different perspectives:\n\nThe sustainable growth rate (SGR) concept by Robert C. Higgins, describes optimal growth from a financial perspective assuming a given strategy with clear defined financial frame conditions/ limitations.
Investment Investment is the dedication of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
Working capital Working capital (WC) is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organisation, or other entity, including governmental entities. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital.
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
Technology Technology is the result of accumulated knowledge and application of skills, methods, and processes used in industrial production and scientific research. Technology is embedded in the operation of all machines, with or without detailed knowledge of their function, for the intended purpose of an organization.
Opportunity (rover) Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, and nicknamed Oppy, is a robotic rover that was active on Mars from 2004 until mid-2018. Opportunity was operational on Mars for 5110 sols (5250 days, or 14 years, 136 days).
Cascade Investment Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson.
Significant other The term significant other (SO) has different uses in psychology and in colloquial language. Colloquially "significant other" is used as a gender-neutral term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Resource-based view The resource-based view (RBV) is a managerial framework used to determine the strategic resources a firm can exploit to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.\nBarney's 1991 article "Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage" is widely cited as a pivotal work in the emergence of the resource-based view.
Regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context.
Washington (state) Washington ( (listen)), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by the British Empire in 1846, by the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute.
Risk Factors
NORDSTROM INC Item 1A Risk Factors
We believe the risks described below outline the items of most concern to us
Additional risks and uncertainties, not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, may also impair our business operations
Nordstrom, Inc
and subsidiaries 5 _________________________________________________________________ [41]Table of Contents ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FASHION TRENDS Our sales and operating results depend in part on our ability to predict or respond to changes in fashion trends and consumer preferences in a timely manner
Any sustained failure to identify and respond to emerging trends in lifestyle and consumer preferences could have a material adverse affect on our business
Consumer spending at our stores may be affected by many factors outside of our control, including consumer confidence, weather and other hazards of nature that affects consumer traffic, and general economic conditions
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT We strive to ensure the merchandise we offer remains fresh and compelling to our customers
If we are not successful at predicting our sales trends and adjusting our purchases, we may have excess inventory, which would result in additional markdowns and reduce our operating performance
IMPACT OF COMPETITIVE MARKET FORCES The recent retail industry consolidation changes the environment for many of our vendors and customers
In the future, our competition may partner more effectively with vendors to serve the market’s needs
If we do not effectively respond to changes in our environment, we may see a loss of market share to competitors, declining same-store sales, and declining profitability due to higher markdowns
STORE GROWTH STRATEGY As of March 2006, our plans for the next three years include opening 13 new stores and relocating or remodeling 18 existing stores
In the past, our expected opening dates have sometimes been delayed because of development plan delays
Our future growth could be negatively impacted by delays to our store opening, relocating or remodeling plans
In addition, our future net sales at new, relocated or remodeled stores may not meet our projections, which could reduce our operating performance
Performance in our new stores could also be impacted based on our ability to hire employees who are able to deliver the level of service customers have come to expect when shopping at our stores
INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY The protection of our customer, employee, and company data is critical to us
The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, with the frequent imposition of new and constantly changing requirements across our business units
In addition, our customers have a high expectation that we will adequately protect their personal information
A significant breach of customer, employee, or company data could damage our reputation and result in lost sales, fines, or lawsuits
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSION PLANNING The training and development of our future leaders is critical to our long-term growth
If we do not effectively implement our strategic and business planning processes to train and develop future leaders, our long-term growth may suffer
In addition, if unexpected leadership turnover occurs without established succession plans, our business may suffer
BOARD SUCCESSION A number of our long-standing Directors who were instrumental in leading our Company have retired or will soon retire from our Board
These Board members with extensive experience will no longer be actively involved in our business and development of our long-term strategy
MULTI-CHANNEL STRATEGY EXECUTION In 2005, we started to make changes in our Direct business that better align our online shopping environment and catalog with the customer experience in our Full-Line stores
These changes include: aligning our Direct merchandise offering with our Full-Line stores to create a seamless experience for our customers between our stores, catalogs and Web site; integrating our Full-Line stores and Direct merchandise organization; recommending that our Full-Line store salespeople utilize our Direct inventory to fulfill customer requests when merchandise is not available at the store; reducing the number and frequency of our Direct catalog mailings; and transitioning our Direct inventory system onto our Full-Line store platform, all while dealing with changes in the Internet market in general
If we made decisions that prove to not be embraced by our customers, our sales could decline
In addition, the cost of integrating these businesses may be greater than expected, which would impact our future operating performance
BRAND AND REPUTATION We have a well-recognized brand that is synonymous with the highest level of customer service
Any significant damage to our brand or reputation may negatively impact same-store sales, lower employee morale and productivity, and diminish customer trust, resulting in a reduction in shareholder value
CAPITAL EFFICIENCY AND PROPER ALLOCATION Our goal is to invest capital to maximize our overall returns
This includes spending on inventory, capital projects and expenses, managing debt levels, managing accounts receivable through our credit business, and using our assets efficiently to return value to our shareholders
To a large degree, capital efficiency reflects how well we manage the other key risks to our Company
The actions taken to address other specific risks may affect how well we manage the more general risk of capital efficiency
Our recent operating results have raised expectations about our performance
If we do not properly allocate our capital to maximize returns, we may fail to continue to produce similar financial results and we may experience a reduction in shareholder value
6 _________________________________________________________________ [42]Table of Contents HUMAN RESOURCE REGULATIONS Our policies and procedures are designed to comply with human resource laws such as wage and hour, meal and rest period, and commissions
Federal and state wage and hour laws are complex, and the related enforcement is increasingly aggressive, particularly in the state of California
Failure to comply with these laws could result in damage to our reputation, class action lawsuits, and dissatisfied employees
EMPLOYMENT AND DISCRIMINATION LAWS State and federal employment and discrimination laws and the related case law continue to evolve, making ongoing compliance in this area a challenge
Failure to comply with these laws may result in damage to our reputation, legal and settlement costs, disruption of our business, and loss of customers and employees, which would result in a loss of net sales and increased employment costs, low employee morale and attendant harm to our business and results of operations
TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY We make investments in information technology to sustain our competitive position
We spend on average approximately dlra150 million each year on information technology operations and system development, and this spending is key to our growth strategy
We must monitor and choose the right investments and implement them at the right pace
Targeting the wrong opportunities, failing to make the best investment, or making an investment commitment significantly above or below the requirements of the business opportunity may result in the loss of our competitive position
In addition, an inadequate investment in maintaining our current systems may result in a loss of system functionality and increased future costs to bring our systems up to date
We may implement too much technology, or change too fast, which could result in failure to adopt the new technology if the business is not ready or capable of accepting it
Excessive technological change affects the effectiveness of adoption, and could adversely affect the realization of benefits from the technology
However, not implementing enough technology could compromise our competitive position
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Our policies and procedures are designed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including those imposed by the SEC, NYSE, the banking industry, and foreign countries
With recent high profile business failures on accounting-related issues, additional legal and regulatory requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have increased the complexity of the regulatory environment
In addition, foreign laws may conflict with domestic laws
Failure to comply with the various regulations may result in damage to our reputation, civil and criminal liability, fines and penalties, increased cost of regulatory compliance, and restatements of financial statements
ANTI-TAKEOVER PROVISIONS We are incorporated in the state of Washington and subject to Washington state law
Some provisions of Washington state law could interfere with or restrict takeover bids or other change in control events affecting us
For example, one statutory provision prohibits us, except under specified circumstances, from engaging in any significant business transaction with any shareholder who owns 10prca or more of our common stock (which shareholder, under the statute, would be considered an “acquiring person”) for a period of five years following the time that such shareholder became an acquiring person