• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 28, 2018

Nordstrom, in its ongoing quest to stay at the front of the e-commerce curve, says it is expanding its Nordstrom Local concept in the Los Angeles area, and adding a new “Get it Fast” shipping feature to its website. 

And its latest collection from Something Navy is proving so irresistible that it crashed the Nordstrom site within the first hour it was up.

The first Nordstrom Local, an experimental format that many retail pundits are watching closely, launched a year ago on Melrose Place in L.A., a market where the company says it has some 4 million active customers. 

It describes the small store as a neighborhood hub, offering shopping and access to Nordstrom services, including alterations, dry-cleaning, personal stylists and curbside pickup, as well as local people and products. Now it says it will open additional Local locations in Brentwood and downtown L.A., offering “unique services and design aesthetics to reflect the needs of customers who live nearby.”

Anthropologie Home is providing the decor in both new stores; the downtown location will also offer barber services and food pickups.

The stepped-up emphasis on localization figures in "Get It Fast," too: Those in eligible Zip codes in L.A. can shop real-time inventory, then either pick up their items that day at Local (or another Nordstrom store) or get it shipped to them the next day for free.

By way of flexing its fashion muscle, Nordstrom’s latest Something Navy collection is proving so popular that it crashed the Seattle-based retailer’s website in the first hour — a problem that was quickly fixed.

Something Navy, from fashion influencer Arielle Charnas, debuted last fall when the Treasure & Bond x Something Navy capsule collection reportedly rang up $1 million in sales in 24 hours.

Besides being a darling of fashionistas and luxury consumers, Nordstrom is also a favorite on Wall Street, with investors seeing it as one of the few department stores with the moxie to fend off Amazon. “We view Nordstrom as a compelling story led by an experienced, best-in-class management team focused on the right key initiatives, which will be able to drive meaningful growth well into the future,” writes Jen Redding, an analyst who follows the retailer for Wedbush Securities.

“We view new and unique limited distribution brands, localized market strategies, powerful omnichannel platform as key drivers of revenue,” she continues.

Still, Wedbush remains neutral on the stock, in part because of “a dynamic and rapidly changing retail environment.”

Separately, Nordstrom also announced that it was reopening its store in Puerto Rico, closed last fall as a result of Hurricane Maria.