NEW YORK - Billionaire investor Ryan Cohen is building a large stake in Nordstrom Inc and plans to change up its board as its performance has lagged behind rivals, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Cohen, who co-founded online pet retailer Chewy Inc and consolidated it with investments in videogame retailer GameStop and Apple Inc, would like to replace one director on Nordstrom's 10 member board, the people said.
He appears to be taking aim at Mark Tritton, who chairs the compensation committee since 2020 and has served as a director since 2020. Cohen called Tritton, a former chief executive of Bed Bath Beyond, conflicted and unqualified, said the people who were not allowed to discuss the private negotiations. Bed Bath Beyond is about to file for bankruptcy, according to a report from the news agency this week.
On Thursday, investors cheered Cohen's involvement at Nordstrom, which sent the stock price up 25% in after-hours trading.
Nordstrom shares have dropped about 55% over the past five years, and ratings agency Fitch downgraded the company last month, saying that its operating trajectory has been weaker than most retailers. Cohen's stake in Nordstrom was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The people familiar with his stake said that Cohen is one of the top five non-insider shareholders of the company, along with investment firms BlackRock and Fidelity.
Tritton was removed as Bed Bath Beyond's CEO in June, a result of a management shakeup in June, just a few months after Cohen had taken a stake in the home goods retailer and criticized it for an overly ambitious strategy, overpaying executives and failing to reverse market share losses.
Cohen identified executives with experience in retail and e-commerce companies as possible replacements on the Nordstrom board. The people said Cohen would like to reach a deal without resorting to a proxy fight.
The window to nominate directors at Nordstrom closes on February 17th, according to proxy materials.
Cohen, 37, of Canada, has a net worth estimated at $2.5 billion. He made a splash in the investing world two years ago when he joined the board of GameStop, triggering a frenzy in the stock price that turned the video retailer into a meme stock backed by retail investors.
Nordstrom was founded by the Nordstrom family and insiders still own around 30% of the stock, with brothers Erik and Peter serving as chief executive officer and president. They have board seats. The people said Cohen has met with family members in Seattle, where the company is headquartered, and has expressed admiration for the company's customer service.