Canadian here - Nordstrom offered outrageously priced goods. The luxury market here is small. Even when it's within reach for someone they aren't likely to chooes the luxury version over a more accessible version.

Fancy things aren't really viewed the same here. In many places having a really nice car doesn't make you "the man". It makes you come across as "flashy". Kinda like "what are they trying to prove?". Even if the person just likes the car, others make it out to be a thing.

tl;dr - they didn't stand a chance because they didn't understand the market.