125-year-old mall retail anchor closes discount outlet, cuts 101 jobs

The department store model isn't dying. Instead, it is quietly reshaping itself. While headlines typically highlight massive retail contractions, including Macy's closing 80 stores and Saks Global's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, some of the legacy chains are executing strategic footprint adjustments instead of a full retreat.

Few retailers illustrate this survival shift better than Nordstrom. The legacy luxury retailer's story is doubly challenging as it is not only a department store chain, but a mall retailer as well. As such it has to deal with the following trials:

The shrinking mall: Projections from Capital One Shopping suggest up to 87% of traditional shopping malls could close over the next decade.

Digital competition: IBISWorld data highlights accelerating market share loss from department stores to e-commerce rivals.

Cautious consumers: Shoppers are planning to further pull back spending across most discretionary categories, according to recent surveys from McKinsey & Company .

To adapt and survive Nordstrom decided to make some major moves, including closures, layoffs, but also targeted investments.

Nordstrom closes another store in 2026, lays off 101 employees

Nordstrom recently confirmed the closure of its ultra-deep-discount clearance outlet store:

Nordstrom Last Chance at Yorktown Center in Lombard, Illinois will close for good in September, a statement from the company confirmed to NBC Chicago .

According to a WARN Act notice posted by Nordstrom on August 7, 101 employees will lose their jobs effective October 5, 2026, as part of the Nordstrom Last Chance closure.

In a statement, the retailer said that the decision to close was "a result of successful efforts" to adjust inventory management, reducing the need for the Yorktown Center store.

Nordstrom's previous closures in 2026 and 2025

Earlier this year, I reported on previous Nordstrom full-line store closures including:

Nordstrom full-line store, Christiana Mall, Delaware , closed on April 30, 2026.

Nordstrom full-line store at Galleria Dallas Mall in Texas closed for good on May 16, 2026.

These closures followed up on the January 2026 closure of a Nordstrom Rack store in Portland, Oregon, and several closures in 2025, including:

Saint Louis Galleria Nordstrom store in St. Louis, Missouri, closed on August 24, 2025.

Nordstrom store in Santa Monica, California , closed on August 26, 2025, reported Fox Business .

More importantly, these closures were revealed after the Nordstrom family reacquired the company in a partnership with Mexican retail giant El Puerto de Liverpool, in a $6.25 billion deal. The move was huge, as it marks the company's return to private ownership for the first time in 55 years, writes The Detroit News .