Shoppers leave Nordstrom’s King of Prussia Mall on December 11, 2022 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Mark Makela | Getty Images
shares Nordstrom It soared Friday morning after news that activist investor and meme stock guru Ryan Cohen bought a stake in the upscale department store company.
The stock is up about 30% in pre-market trading.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Thursday night that Cohen was in the process of acquiring a “significant stake” in Nordstrom as he looked to shake up its board. The magazine said Cohen is now one of the top five non-family shareholders in Nordstrom.
Nordstrom, for its part, said it was willing to hear Cohen out.
“While Mr. Cohen has not sought any discussions with us in several years, we are open to hearing his views, as we are with all Nordstrom shareholders,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interest of the company and our shareholders.”
The news about Cohen comes weeks after Nordstrom, which had to cut prices dramatically to relieve an inventory glut, reported lackluster holiday sales and lowered its guidance for the year. The company is scheduled to report earnings on March 2.
Cohen, who founded a pet and health retail website chewy, is considered a hero of the stock meme crowd. He is Reddit’s favorite chief Jim Stop. He also launched a short demonstration in bed bath behind last year before it finally went out of stock. Bed Bath is expected to file for bankruptcy protection any day now.
Cohen seems to be aiming again at Mark Tritton, the first license plate The CEO who was forced to step down as CEO of Bed Bath last year as Cohen’s company pressured the struggling home goods retailer. Triton has been a member of Nordstrom’s board of directors for nearly three years, having previously served at the company from 2009 to 2016.
According to the Journal, Cohen believes that Tritton, given his previous experience working for the company, should not make a decision about compensating Nordstrom family members who also hold executive positions at the retailer. Eric Nordstrom is the company’s CEO, while Peter Nordstrom serves as its president.
— CNBC’s Keri Cofield contributed to this report.