Upmarket US department store chain Nordstrom is reported to be in talks to open its first shop in New York.

The Seattle-based retailer, which generated US$8.6 billion (£4.3 billion) in sales last year and operates 155 stores in 27 states, is believed to be in negotiations for a unit at the site of the former Drake Hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan. The plot is believed to have been bought for US$418 million (£208 million) last year by Macklowe Properties.

A Nordstrom spokesman said: “We’ve been looking at a number of sites and we’re eager to be in Manhattan.”

The potential deal is the latest sign that high-end US retailers have remained immune to turmoil in the domestic economy. Like-for-like sales at Nordstrom were up 6.6 per cent in the four weeks to September 1. It also affirms the vibrancy of key urban destinations with high barriers to entry, such as New York, where a number of other retailers are poised to debut.

Department store chain JC Penney will open its first Manhattan shop next year in the Manhattan Mall on Sixth Avenue, close to rival Macy’s.

Abercrombie & Fitch’s surf-inspired teenwear division Hollister has signed to a location at 600 Broadway. Mango is set to open at 557 Broadway and Muji will open two stores: at the New York Times Building on Eighth Avenue and 41st Street, and in SoHo at 441 Broadway.