But the Nordstroms, one of the last remaining dynasties of American retailing, had never made a big bet in nation’s retailing capital until now.

On Thursday, Nordstrom will open its first full-line store in Manhattan, a sleek, three-floor home to men’s clothing, shoes and grooming supplies at 57th Street and Broadway.

The Seattle-based company arrives in New York at an inauspicious time for retailers. Its competitors are selling off or converting some of their grandest stores, not building new ones. The city’s toniest shopping strips, in SoHo and on Madison Avenue, have been littered with empty store fronts.

But the Nordstroms think they can buck the trend, even as many investors on Wall Street have grown wary of brick-and-mortar retailing.

Last week, with seven days before the doors were to open, the new store buzzed with contractors installing wiring and sales staff getting trained on shoe styles and online pickup.

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