Nordstrom's Local concept made its New York debut with the opening of a roughly 1,800 sqft location on the Upper East Side. A second New York City Local will open in the West Village at the end of this month.

The novelty at these two "Nordstrom Local" concept stores is that they will accept merchandise returns from rivals like Macy's Inc. and Kohl's Corp., regardless of whether Nordstrom carries the same item. Nordstrom's decision to accept returns from its competitors is a first for the upscale department store chain, and is being made with the busy New York City shopper in mind. With a focus on services and eschewing products, Nordstrom's Local store concept is positioned as a convenience hub for consumers. [Accepting rivals' returns isn't a totally new concept: Kohl's has been allowing Amazon.com Inc. returns in its stores nationwide since July.]

The new "local" Nordstrom in New York will also offer services like shoe, handbag and small leather goods repair, charity drop-offs for used items, stroller cleanings, and serve as meeting spots "for networking and family driven events", in a bid to get customers in stores, whether or not they're buying.

The company, which already operates three stores under the new format in California, is also opening its Manhattan flagship location next month.