Nordstrom Rack to open new Georgia store in summer 2027

Nordstrom, Inc. will open a Nordstrom Rack in Athens, Georgia, in summer 2027, the Seattle-based retailer announced Thursday, adding an eighth off-price location in a state where it currently operates two full-line stores.

The 22,000-square-foot store will anchor an outparcel at Athens Marketplace, a shopping centre on Atlanta Highway (US 78) whose tenants include Office Depot and GameStop. The outparcel is owned and managed by Crimson Companies, led by Pamela Day.

"We look forward to being a part of the Athens community and serving our customers with an amazing offering of great brands at great prices," said Gemma Lionello, president of Nordstrom Rack. "We're excited to grow our footprint in the Atlanta market and introduce new customers to the Nordstrom experience."

Athens sits roughly 70 miles east of Atlanta, and the store will extend Nordstrom's off-price network beyond the metro's immediate suburbs into a smaller university market — the University of Georgia enrols about 40,000 students. Nordstrom's Georgia footprint currently supports more than 700 jobs statewide.

Lionello said the location will offer order pickup from both Nordstrom.com and NordstromRack.com, along with returns. That service layer is central to how Nordstrom positions Rack: the banner functions as a customer-acquisition and fulfilment node for the wider business, and the company describes it as its largest source of new customers. Rack carries markdowns of up to 70 percent on apparel, accessories, beauty, home and footwear, with alterations at select stores.

"We are excited to welcome Nordstrom Rack to Athens Marketplace," said Mike Riso, property manager at Crimson Companies, framing the deal around local job creation and economic development.

The announcement lands within a sustained off-price build-out. Nordstrom confirmed at least 14 new Rack stores for 2026 across ten states, with further openings flagged for 2027 and 2028 — an expansion running counter to a US retail environment in which announced closures have outpaced openings. Most of the new sites, including Athens, are open-air centres rather than enclosed malls, reflecting a preference for lower-cost boxes with easier pickup and return access.

Nordstrom has been private since May 2025, when the founding family and Mexico's El Puerto de Liverpool completed a 6.25 billion dollar take-private. Freed from quarterly reporting, the company has leaned harder on Rack, which has carried the stronger growth rate of its two banners.

This article was written with the help of AI