Nordstrom will hire 1,000 employees for its Pacific Centre store including 44 managers, the company announced February 24.
The managers are likely to be hired in April with other staff hired in June so training can take place before the store’s September 18 opening.
“Vancouver is truly one-of-a-kind and we couldn’t be more excited about opening our store here and earning our customers’ business,” said Chris Wanlass, who is a 23-year company veteran and will be the store’s general manager.
Wanlass began his career in 1992 as a stockperson at a Nordstrom store in Salt Lake City. He relocated to Atlanta in 1997 to open the company’s first store in the southern U.S. as a department manager.
In 1999, Wanlass moved to Seattle, where he worked as an assistant buyer and then buyer in the men’s division. He then moved to San Francisco to be an assistant store manager in 2003.
During the past 10 years, Wanlass has managed stores in San Francisco, White Plains, New York, Sacramento, California and, most recently, Bellevue, Washington. He plans to move to Vancouver's Yaletown neighbourhood with his partner, Tom, and their two five-year-old twin boys.
Managers at the Pacific Centre Nordstrom store will go to Seattle for an immersion training program where they will learn about the company’s culture, hear from Nordstrom leaders and have the opportunity to work alongside a mentor manager in a Seattle-area store.
Housing, food and travel will be paid for by Nordstrom.
