Today, the Bay area's first Nordstrom Rack opens in Tampa. The store is the sixth Nordstrom Rack to open in Florida.
Tampa, Florida - They're two words women around the Bay area have been waiting to hear.
Nordstrom Rack!
Today at 9 a.m., a brand new 45,000 square foot Nordstrom Rack opened at 1702 North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.
Shoppers started lining up before dawn to enter a drawing for a $2,000 shopping spree.
At 8:45 a.m., a lucky lady won the $2,000 shopping spree and screamed, "I don't have makeup on!"
She had 90 seconds to go around the store and pick out whatever she wanted. She walked out of the store with a shopping cart overflowing with shoes and denim.
By the time the store opened at 9 a.m., more than 100 people had lined up.
"I took off work in March to be here today!" said Nicole Brinson of Land O' Lakes. She was among the first in line at 5:50 a.m.
10 News got asneak peek tour of the store on Wednesday. It features more than 25,000 pairs of shoes, more than 1,100 pairs of premium jeans, more than 1,800 pairs of sunglasses, 1,300 men's ties, 800 bottles of nail polish, an onsite tailor and more.
Shoppers can expect to pay 30 to 70 percent less than what they'd pay at a full-line Nordstrom store.
The Tampa store is the sixth Nordstrom Rack to open in Florida, as the chain appears to be picking up steam as the nation recovers from a recession.
In 2008, Nordstrom Rack opened six stores nationwide. In 2009, a total of 13 new stores opened. And this year, Nordstrom Rack expects to open 17 new stores.
"We had looked at expanding Nordstrom Racks before the downturn, and [in the last year] there have been some good real estate opportunities that have become available," said Colin Johnson with Nordstrom Public Relations.
While the recession offered fewer developer opportunities for the larger footprint required for full-line Nordstrom stores, Johnson says Nordstrom Rack locations were easier to acquire.
The Tampa Nordstrom Rack, for instance, is opening where a Circuit City used to be. The electronics store held massive liquidation sales after Circuit Cityfiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November of 2008.
The Tampa Nordstrom Rack will get new merchandise shipments a few times a week, Johnson said.
Regular hours for Tampa's Nordstrom Rack are Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Join a discussion with other women about the store opening on MomsLikeMe.com.
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