Tiffany is coming. Can Nordstrom be far behind?

If it comes, it may not be Tucson’s million residents who bring them. Instead, for these high-dollar retailers, Tucson’s edge may be coming from communities further to the south.

Tucson is within the visa-free visitor zone for Mexican nationals. It’s estimated shoppers coming across at Nogales, Douglas, Naco and Sasabe already spend more than $2 million a day at businesses between the border and the northern Pima County line. More than half of that is spent in Tucson.

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As the economy continues to improve in Mexico, that amount will only get larger.

That has a lot to do with the decision by Tiffany & Co. to open a 4,000 square-foot store Sept. 29 at La Encantada on the northwest corner of Skyline Drive and Campbell Avenue.

Tiffany’s has one other Arizona store, in Scottsdale Fashion Square. Combining the New York flagship store’s recognizable façade with Southwestern scale and detail, the company said it is aiming to combine its traditional appearance with what would be comfortable to Arizona’s shoppers.

Included in the preferred customer mix are Sonora’s shoppers, said spokeswoman Linda Burke. They are “perfect to become Tiffany customers,” she said.

Tiffany shouldn’t be alone in recognizing the value of this market.

“It’s not very wise to discount our Mexican shoppers,” said Kimberly Schmitz, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In a report, compiled by the Economic and Business Research center at the Eller College of Management and presented at this year’s Cross-Border Shopping Activity Conference in San Antonio, Texas, it was noted that nearly one third of all cross-border shopping was done at Southern Arizona department stores, accounting for more than $400 million in spending, each year.

Already accounting for 4 percent of Pima County retail sales and almost half of sales in Santa Cruz County, attracting more shoppers has become a major part of the bureau’s Vamos á Tucson effort in Sonora.

“We’re working with partners, doing trade shows and anything else we can do to let them know about Tucson,” Schmitz said. “This is a huge and important travel market for us and we want to support it.”

For Seattle-based Nordstrom, which has previously considered and rejected Tucson as a potential market, finding a location depends on a variety of factors, “including a strong mix of retail and entertainment in the vicinity, as well as a long-term economic health in the region,” said spokeswoman Amy Pobst.

Scottsdale Fashion Square and Chandler were chosen as locations for the retailer, but with 99 Nordstrom stores and another 54 Nordstrom Rack discount outlets in 27 states, she said the selection process is less about overall population and more about the specific character of the community.

“There’s no specific rulebook, it varies depending on a number of factors, but there’s a general sense of what places will work for us and those that won’t,” Pobst said.

Could Tiffany’s decision change Nordstrom’s evaluation? Pobst said maybe, since the jeweler and the fashion retailer serve many of the same buyers.

“The fact that Tiffany is choosing to open in Tucson would interest us,” she said, and their rationale offers an added dimension. “We don’t have any current plans to open in Tucson, but we would consider any tourism a plus.”

E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Contact Philip S. Moore by e-mail at pmoore@azbiz.com or call (520) 295-4238.

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