Nordstrom and Michael Kors are on the rocks.
The Seattle-based department store is quietly dumping the designer’s handbags in more than half of its 121 full-line stores across the country, according to a research report on Tuesday.
Nordstrom is also feeling squeezed by rival Macy’s, which has a glut of Kors bags, many of them on sale, the report from Wedbush Securities said. The markdowns are forcing Nordstrom to match the discount.
“The incessant price matching that was necessary to keep up with Macy’s promotions” is a major reason Nordstrom is scaling back Kors bags, according to Lupine Skelly, who runs the retail checking group at Wedbush.
Nordstrom, in a statement, insisted that it’s not discontinuing its “significant” relationship with Kors. A spokesman, though, declined to comment on the report’s assertion that some 54 stores had stopped carrying the bags in May and that another six might do so by June.
Michael Kors declined to comment. Its stock closed up 5 cents, to $41.56.