The hiring of about 300 employees for the new Nordstrom at Ross Park Mall should begin next month, but the Seattle merchant may be competing for sales staff with a raft of other tenants ready to become neighbors with the upscale department store.

Shoppers with a passion for a certain style of clothes and accessories soon will be able to hit the new Louis Vuitton, Burberry, True Religion Jeans and Michael Kors stores scheduled to open at the 1.2 million-square-foot mall, according to mall owner Simon Property Group Inc.

While some of those brands already are carried inside other stores in the region, these will be the lines' first stand-alone locations in the market. The Indianapolis mall operator also plans to bring in specialty tea purveyor Teavana.

The North Hills mall has been under renovation for months, as construction crews replaced the former Lazarus department store structure with a 138,000-square-foot store made just for Nordstrom. The expansion also includes adding other store spaces next to the enclosed mall. Inside, a number of existing tenants have been moving or closing, as management prepares for the new anchor.

The newest announcements follow a string of tenant signings in recent months. Other stores expected to open include jeweler Tiffany & Co., clothing stores BCBGMaxAzria, White House/Black Market, L.L.Bean and Martin + Osa, a new concept from South Side retailer American Eagle Outfitters.

Change also has come inside some established stores. The Sears store at the mall has expanded its Land's End store-within-a-store concept to cover 43,000 square feet. The company said only a few of those around the nation are that big.

Meanwhile, the Nordstrom team is preparing for the late October grand opening of its much-anticipated store. Efforts to lure the chain here go back years, although many hoped the retailer would choose a location Downtown.

While the timing may not seem optimal as the economy slows and consumer confidence sinks, Nordstrom is opening several stores this year around the country in locations picked up when the Macy's department store operator merged with the parent of Kaufmann's and Marshall Fields.

"We feel it's a good time for us to be growing," said Michael Boyd, a Nordstrom spokesman in town this week to work on plans for the Pittsburgh opening. He said the retailer hopes to gain market share while others are pulling back.

Although some mall employees have expressed concerns that Ross Park may be going a bit too upscale, mall management has said that shouldn't be a problem. Recent months have also brought in value-priced tenants such as Old Navy, H&M and Forever 21, and long-time mall anchor J.C. Penney offers a mid-priced mix of goods.