FNAA Hall of Fame Honoree Tacey Powers Reflects on Her Illustrious Career at Nordstrom & Key Moments That Changed Her Path
Katie Abel
Executive Editor
On Dec. 4, Tacey Powers will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 38th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 2 print issue looking back at her many contributions to Nordstrom and the footwear industry.
Tacey Powers vividly recalls a defining moment during her first few weeks working on the sales floor at Nordstrom’s Cerritos, Calif., store.
It was the early 1980s, and the ambitious young college student was organizing Members Only jackets when the retailing family’s third-generation leaders approached her.
“Mr. Jim, Mr. Bruce and Mr. John walked up to me. They said they hadn’t met me and were excited to have me at Nordstrom. These men had a lot of stores and employees … and they took the time to stop and introduce themselves. It meant something. I thought, ‘OK, that’s it.’”
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Powers, who had originally planned to sell computers at IBM, realized that Nordstrom was the place for her. “Once I got into the company, the culture quickly aligned with my personal values. I never looked back,” she said.
Within six months, Powers was an assistant department manager. After a year, she was promoted again, to manager of Point of View, a women’s apparel department.
At age 23, she took on the role of coat buyer. “They would hand you a corporate credit card and you would be off to New York to select product. The fact that I didn’t make any horrific mistakes is amazing,” Powers quipped. “I’m still thankful to this day because it was the coldest winter on record in Southern California. I got very lucky.”
More than four decades later, Powers still considers herself lucky. A beloved member of the close-knit Nordstrom team, she has put her stamp on nearly every part of the business — including all major merchandise categories, from women’s to kids to men’s, Nordstrom.com and Nordstrom Rack. “No decade has been the same, no five years has been the same. We’re a company that’s always evolving,” she said.
Now as executive vice president and general merchandise manager for shoes, she is powering the business that has always been the heart and soul of the retailer.
“Throughout Tacey’s career, she has been a tenacious advocate for our customers and a terrific partner to our vendors in the growth of our business,” said Jamie Nordstrom, chief merchandising officer of Nordstrom. “Relationships matter in this industry, and Tacey has been a model of integrity, curiosity and collaboration for so many of us.”
With the support of her mentors at Nordstrom, Powers first made the leap into footwear in 2006, when [former shoe exec] Jack Minuk gave her “the scariest promotion” to DMM of women’s shoes for the West Coast. “Everybody who works in the shoe division at Nordstrom grows up on the shoe floor. I said they would never accept me as a shoe dog. He said, ‘See you on Monday.’ It was such a responsibility. I took this assignment very seriously.”
Powers quickly learned the intricacies of the footwear business — and she was hooked. “I love that this is an industry with people who truly care about each other. They compete, but they come together on so many important subjects. There’s a real mutual respect,” she said. “In the other arenas I worked in, that wasn’t my experience.”
Powers’ unwavering focus on partnership has been key for both the retailer and its vendor community. Some favorite memories include being on the floor with the late shoe legend Vince Camuto during personal appearances. “You would have thought we had Kim Kardashian at the store,” she said. “We would learn so much on those Saturdays.”
Powers has been instrumental in building power brands such as Ugg and Birkenstock, while cultivating new categories such as running.
This year, the executive and her team unveiled the “Make Room for Shoes” campaign, a yearlong celebration of the retailer’s passion and commitment for the category. The program featured special initiatives with FN’s two brands of the year, On and Larroudé, among other major names, such as Caleres-owned Sam Edelman.
“Tacey is an outstanding merchant who somehow keeps getting better,” said Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres. “[Our companies] share many of the same values, and our brands have flourished under her leadership. She stands as a great example of how to win in the business long term by building trust with amazing integrity.”
For Powers, winning also means staying curious and embracing disruption in an ever-changing retail climate. One burning issue that’s top of mind right now? AI. “It’s going to have a tremendous impact on the ways we work in our own companies, and how we use it to make us more efficient,” she said. It is also critical to understand how AI can be used to enhance the “art” side of retailing,” Powers noted.
The executive regularly shares her words of wisdom with rising industry leaders through her work with Two Ten and its WIFI group. “I love the way Two Ten has evolved to be helpful across so many facets,” said the executive, who noted the uniqueness of the group’s mission: shoe people helping shoe people.
Shoes That Fit is another organization that Powers and Nordstrom continue to champion. The group tackles one of the most visible signs of poverty in America by giving children in need new athletic shoes. “I go to these shoe drops where I’m sizing kids at two or three sizes above the shoes they have on,” said Powers, who is a Shoes That Fit board member. While Nordstrom has partnered with one athletic company each year on footwear donations, the retailer now has a goal of bringing more brands on board for the cause.
Giving back has always been at the core of Nordstrom’s mission, and Powers feels fortunate to work for a family that has instilled a sense of purpose.
“Some parts of our company — and how we treat each other — have bled into my personal life and made me a better person,” she said.
For 38 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2024 event is supported by sponsors Listrak, Marc Fisher, Nordstrom and Vibram.
