Nordstrom March same-store sales fall 9.1 percent

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) said on Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year fell 9.1 percent, hurt by an earlier Easter holiday.

Analysts on average were expecting same-store sales to decline by 7.7 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.

Same-store sales at the company's full-line stores fell 11.4 percent, while those at the off-price rack division rose 1.7 percent.

Nordstrom said same-store results suffered because of the shift of Easter from April last year to March this year. All stores were closed for the holiday.

However, same-store sales results in April will benefit from the shift.

The Seattle-based retailer said preliminary data indicated total sales for the five weeks ended April 5 fell 6.7 percent to $750 million.

Nordstrom said in a prerecorded telephone call that the South and Northwest regions performed the best, while the merchandise showing the strongest sales included cosmetic, accessories, women's active wear, hosiery and intimate apparel.

The company plans to open a full-line store in Clinton Township, Michigan, on April 18.

Shares of Nordstrom were up 76 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $34.05 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)