Content about Chicago

May 17, 2013

General Growth Properties said that its Oakbrook Center property in Chicago has welcomed Fixtures Living, an experiential showroom concept based in San Diego.

Chicago -- General Growth Properties said that its Oakbrook Center property in Chicago has welcomed Fixtures Living, an experiential showroom concept based in San Diego.

The Oakbrook Center store is the company’s first outside of California. It is slated to open in spring 2014 and will be Fixtures Living's fifth overall and the second one situated within a luxury retail center – the other being Glendale (Calif.) Galleria.

May 9, 2013

Chicago -- Dillard's has selected OpinionLab to extend its omnichannel “Voice of Customer” program including its digital, mobile and in-store experiences, with precise insight into what its customers want and need.

OpinionLab's patented solutions allow Dillard’s to systematically interpret customer feedback across all of Dillard’s brand touchpoints, including mobile platforms, online and in-store. Now, Dillard’s can monitor and optimize the customer experience in real-time with an end-to-end solution set that includes research design, data collection and integration, analysis and reporting. Location-specific, context-rich insight can be fed across the organization, from managers through executives, for the greatest impact from the voice of the customer.

“At Dillard’s, we are committed to providing the very best customer service and a great experience for our customers regardless of where they shop – whether that’s in our stores, at Dillards.com or through their mobile phones,” said Woody Chin, CIO of Dillard’s. “We believe our decision to select the global leader in Voice of Customer, is a true testament of our commitment – making it even easier for our customers to provide feedback and for our company to act on that feedback.”

Chicago -- Dillard's has selected OpinionLab to extend its omnichannel “Voice of Customer” program including its digital, mobile and in-store experiences, with precise insight into what its customers want and need.

May 7, 2013

Bucksbaum Retail Properties opened for business in April 2012. The Chicago-based company has already opened one project and is working on four more.

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Kingsbury Center near North Chicago has opened with four tenants: Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy Johns. It is a joint venture with Chicago-based Structured Development.

May 7, 2013

Bucksbaum Retail Properties opened for business in April 2012. The Chicago-based company has already opened one project and is working on four more.

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Kingsbury Center near North Chicago has opened with four tenants: Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy Johns. It is a joint venture with Chicago-based Structured Development.

May 7, 2013

In the retail real estate landscape, there aren't as many networking options as one might think. Even fewer if you narrow it down to those events that put landlords and tenants in the same room, along with entertainment, face-to-face meet and greets, and mutually beneficial educational sessions.

May 7, 2013

I visited my first Von Maur store in 1999, a decade after I relocated from southern boomtown Atlanta to Lincoln, Neb., a sleepy college town that only really wakes up on Husker football Saturdays. Today I am back home in Baton Rouge, La., still no bustling metropolis, but the food and football trump.

May 7, 2013

Here are several pure-play online retailers that are venturing into the physical space — or thinking about making the leap:

Rent the Runway, which rents high-end designer gowns, dresses and accessories to women for weddings and other special events, will use a recent infusion of $24.4 million in financing to build showrooms where shoppers can try on the frocks and consult with stylists. The popular online destination reportedly has Chicago next on its agenda.

April 29, 2013

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has named Stephen Rachman as regional manager of its Chicago O’Hare office.

Chicago -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has named Stephen Rachman as regional manager of its Chicago O’Hare office.

Rachman began his career at Marcus & Millichap in 2002 as an agent in the firm’s Chicago O’Hare office and, in 2004, relocated to the Chicago Downtown office. Named senior associate in 2005, and then VP investments in March 2013, Rachman returned to the Chicago O’Hare office in March.
 

April 23, 2013
Starbucks Coffee Company's two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme.

Starbucks Coffee Company's two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme. The walls are lined with reclaimed local brick; salvaged wood from disused boxcars clads walls, ceilings and fixtures. A floor-to-ceiling diagram of the world’s coffee-growing regions, done by a local artist, is featured downstairs.

April 23, 2013
Starbucks Coffee Company's two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme.

Starbucks Coffee Company's two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme. The walls are lined with reclaimed local brick; salvaged wood from disused boxcars clads walls, ceilings and fixtures. A floor-to-ceiling diagram of the world’s coffee-growing regions, done by a local artist, is featured downstairs.

April 22, 2013
Information Resources (IRI), the exclusive provider of Costco point-of-sale and inventory information to the manufacturer community, and Costco Wholesale announced several enhancements to their Costco Collaborative Retail Exchange (CRX) program, a single, global solution for category, POS and supply chain tracking at Costco, and the launch of Costco CRX Mexico.

New York -- Investment firm Starboard Value, Office Depot’s largest stockholder with a 14.8% stake, revealed Monday it has delivered a letter to the office supply retailer’s board of directors, expressing “strong disappointment at the board's failure to work constructively with Starboard to reconstitute the board.

March 27, 2013

Lemont, Ill.-based Englewood Construction said that its restaurant group has begun work on four new projects, including a food court in New Jersey’s largest outlet mall, a steakhouse in a downtown Chicago luxury hotel and two suburban Chicago mall restaurants.

Chicago -- Lemont, Ill.-based Englewood Construction said Wednesday that its restaurant group has begun work on four new projects, including a food court in New Jersey’s largest outlet mall, a steakhouse in a downtown Chicago luxury hotel and two suburban Chicago mall restaurants.

“As we head out of the recession, we’re seeing more importance placed on dining and entertainment, and the focus is on redevelopment,” said William Di Santo, president, Englewood Construction.

March 25, 2013

Mid-America Asset Management said it has signed three furniture/home décor stores to retail locations in Chicago’s suburbs of Oak Brook and McHenry as well as downstate in Bloomington, Ill.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. -- Mid-America Asset Management said it has signed three furniture/home décor stores to retail locations in Chicago’s suburbs of Oak Brook and McHenry as well as downstate in Bloomington, Ill.

Ashley Furniture signed a lease for 31,573 sq. ft. at Colonial Plaza in Bloomington, Ill., with plans to open in spring 2013. Ashley Furniture will co-anchor the 236,460-sq.-ft. center along with Kmart and OfficeMax.

March 19, 2013

CVS Caremark has donated $250,000 to the Chicago State University’s College of Pharmacy for the development of the CVS Caremark Student Center and Technology Laboratory.

New York -- CVS Caremark has donated $250,000 to the Chicago State University’s College of Pharmacy for the development of the CVS Caremark Student Center and Technology Laboratory.

“This donation will help to improve the College’s physical space and technological resources, which greatly enhances student success within the College of Pharmacy. To say thank you is an understatement,” stated Dean Miriam Mobley Smith with the College of Pharmacy.

March 14, 2013

Target is expanding its retail clinic presence in the Chicago area, according to the Chicago Tribune.

New York -- Target is expanding its retail clinic presence in the Chicago area, according to the Chicago Tribune.
 
The retailer plans to open three in-store health clinics — two in the suburbs and one in the city — in the Chicago area, the report said. Construction is scheduled to start on May 28, and grand openings are planned for Aug. 18. The Target on Division Street, scheduled to open in October, will also have a clinic.

March 8, 2013

Nordstrom announced two new locations for Nordstrom Rack, with stores planned for Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced two new locations for Nordstrom Rack, with stores planned for Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.

In Jacksonville, Nordstrom Rack will open in The Markets at Town Center in Jacksonville, Fla. The approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2013.

The announcement follows recently announced plans to open a Nordstrom full-line store at St. Johns Town Center in fall 2014. Nordstrom currently operates nine full-line stores and eight Rack stores throughout Florida.

March 5, 2013

Fashion Outlets of Chicago, a new mall due to open in August near O'Hare International Airport, on Tuesday announced its tenant list.

New York -- Fashion Outlets of Chicago, a new mall due to open in August near O'Hare International Airport, on Tuesday announced its tenant list.

The two-level, 530,000-sq.-ft. center will be anchored by a Bloomingdale's outlet, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and Forever 21.

March 4, 2013

AWE Talisman and Macerich announced that Fashion Outlets of Chicago will open on August 1 in Rosemont, Ill., featuring Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and 120 additional brands.

Chicago -- AWE Talisman and Macerich announced Monday that Fashion Outlets of Chicago will open on August 1 in Rosemont, Ill., featuring Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and 120 additional brands.

The two-level, 530,000-sq.-ft. outlet mall is the first fully enclosed, multi-level property with this level of amenities in the Chicago area in more than two decades, according to both companies.

February 27, 2013

Englewood Construction announced that its retail group has begun work on four new projects, including three in the Chicago market and one in Columbus, Ohio.

Chicago -- Englewood Construction announced Wednesday that its retail group has begun work on four new projects, including three in the Chicago market and one in Columbus, Ohio.
 

February 26, 2013

The retail industry is poised for another year of heavy deal flow.

Chicago -- The retail industry is poised for another year of heavy deal flow. Nearly all retail CFOs (94%) expect merger and acquisition will increase or remain steady in 2013, according to a new survey from BDO USA.

The bullish forecasts follow $324.6 billion in global retail and consumer M&A activity in 2012, which was up 33% over 2011 and the busiest year since 2007, according to Dealogic. A majority of CFOs (68%) expect the U.S. markets to see a majority of deal volume, followed by the Asia-Pacific market (20%) and Latin America market (7%).

February 19, 2013

Simons, Canada’s eclectic and fashion-forward department store retailer, received top honors in Chain Store Age’s 31st annual Retail Store of the Year design competition.

New York -- Simons, Canada’s eclectic and fashion-forward department store retailer, received top honors in Chain Store Age’s 31st annual Retail Store of the Year design competition. The company’s 118,000-sq.-ft. store in West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Canada, was named Store of the Year. Designed by figure3, Toronto, Simons also was the winning entry in the department store category.

February 5, 2013

Banana Republic is partnering with Match.com to host in-store meet and greet events for the online dating site’s subscribers in key markets, including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.

New York -- Banana Republic is partnering with Match.com to host in-store meet and greet events for the online dating site’s subscribers in key markets, including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. The partnership is part of the retailer’s newly announced “Love” global marketing campaign.

To further engage consumers, Banana Republic will ask their Instagram and Twitter followers to share photos of hearts for a chance to be featured in a special Valentine's Day album posted on the brand’s Facebook page.


 

February 4, 2013

OfficeMax has become the latest retailer with a smaller-store, urban format either open or in the wings.

New York -- OfficeMax has become the latest retailer with a smaller-store, urban format either open or in the wings.
 
The retailer will unveil its smaller concept sometime in 2013, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The new format will range between 5,000 sq. ft. and 15,000 sq. ft., the report said.

 

January 30, 2013

Automation and mass production will continue to make life easier in the years ahead, but consumers and companies will react by valuing – and promoting – human services and artisan goods.

Chicago -- Automation and mass production will continue to make life easier in the years ahead, but consumers and companies will react by valuing – and promoting – human services and artisan goods. That’s one of the key trends research firm Mintel predicts will be impacting consumer behavior in the next five to 10 years.

As part of its lunch of Mintel Futures, a new program designed to forecast long-term industry trends, Mintel identified six key trends affecting the global consumer market in the near future:

January 25, 2013

A report by Mid-America Real Estate Corp. found that 2012 shopping center construction in the Chicagoland area grew 10% year-over-year, after a four-year decline.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. -- A Friday report by Mid-America Real Estate Corp. found that 2012 shopping center construction in the Chicagoland area grew 10% year-over-year, after a four-year decline.

According to the 2012-2013 Chicagoland Shopping Center Report, square footage increased from 1.02 million sq. ft. of space in 2011 to 1.14 million sq. ft. – a difference of about 113,000 sq. ft.