Trunk Club Being Acquired by Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire Trunk Club, a personalized clothing service for men. The men's market is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing segments in retail, and Trunk Club has created a unique approach to capture the imagination of an under-served customer. They deliver a stylist service that combines the convenience of online with a high-touch, personalized shopping experience. The acquisition aligns with Nordstrom's strategic priorities around superior customer service, fashion, relevance and a seamless shopping experience.

Trunk Club CEO Brian Spaly said, "Nordstrom is stellar at many of the things we aim to improve on to offer our members the best possible service: inventory management, planning and logistics are great examples. We knew that a partnership with the best-in-class retailer could significantly enhance our member experience and we are excited to have found a company that is such a natural fit with our culture and approach to customer experience."

Trunk Club offers a full suite of solutions, from day to day ready-to-wear basics to high-end custom garments. Customers can seamlessly experience the service across the web, mobile and in-store, with showrooms in Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C., and a fourth opening inLos Angeles next month. These offer the opportunity for customers to meet face to face with their Trunk Club stylists. The five year old business is high growth. "We have more than 1,500 talented personal stylists at Nordstrom as well – in our stores. This complimentary service is an important and successful volume driver for us that our customers appreciate," said Erik Nordstrom. "What Trunk Club does adds to our service capabilities - we can learn from them about what they call 'assisted commerce' so we can continue to meet the evolving needs of customers."

Trunk Club will continue to operate independently and focus on its core business while leveraging Nordstrom's capabilities and resources to scale its business. It will be managed by its current leadership team and remain headquartered in Chicago. The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including customary regulatory and stockholder approvals, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014. Nordstrom will provide additional details of the transaction on its upcoming earnings conference call on August 14, 2014. Guggenheim Securities, LLC is acting as financial advisor to Nordstrom; Paul Hastings LLP and Lane Powell PC are acting as its counsel. Goodwin Proctor LLP is acting as counsel to Trunk Club.