Department store giants Nordstrom and Macy’s announced the temporary closure of their establishments. Their respective statements can be found below:

Nordstrom:
“On behalf of everyone at Nordstrom, our hearts go out to all those impacted by COVID-19—this includes not only those diagnosed with the virus, but also their friends and family, those whose jobs and schools have been impacted and so many more. Our focus is, as always, on the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities.

“The situation is changing rapidly, and to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus, we have decided to temporarily close all our stores. The two-week closure will go into effect on Tuesday, March 17. This decision includes all our U.S. and Canada stores. We remain open and ready to serve you through our apps and online at , Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook.com and TrunkClub.com—including digital styling, online order pickup and curbside services at our full-line stores, as we are allowed by local regulations.

“We realize the impact a closure can have on our store employees, and this is not a decision we made lightly. We want to take care of them as best we can and will be providing them with pay and benefits during this two-week period as well as providing additional resources to help them through this challenging time.

“There is no question this is a time of great uncertainty. While we don’t know exactly what the future may hold, we feel confident that by sticking together and supporting each other, we’ll emerge from this stronger than before.”

Thank you for your loyalty,

Erik & Pete Nordstrom

Macy’s:
“In response to the widespread COVID-19 outbreak, Macy’s, Inc. announced that it will temporarily close all stores by end of business Tuesday, March 17, through March 31. This includes all Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bluemercury, Macy’s Backstage, Bloomingdales the Outlet and Market by Macy’s stores. Macy’s will continue to provide benefits and compensation to its impacted workforce.

“The health and safety of our customers, colleagues and communities is our utmost priority. As a result of the recent COVID-19 developments, we have decided to temporarily close our stores. We will work with government and health officials to assess when we will reopen our stores and safely bring our colleagues back to work,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “During this closure, we will continue to serve our customers through our e-commerce sites.”

“All three Macy’s, Inc. brands – Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury – will continue to serve customers through macys.com, bloomingdales.com and bluemercury.com and through its mobile apps.

About Macy’s, Inc.
Macy’s, Inc. is one of the nation’s premier omni-channel fashion retailers, with fiscal 2019 sales of $24.6 billion. The company comprises three retail brands, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. Macy’s, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York. For more information, please visit www.macysinc.com.