Columbia is Coming

As the retail shuffle continues on North Michigan Avenue, we have sad news for 12-year-old boys across the Midwest yearning for a Chicago vacation:

There will not be three Victoria's Secret stores within three blocks of each other in Chicago.

Tragic, we know.

When the big Victoria's Secret store at 830 North Michigan Avenue was being renovated a couple of years ago the chain opened another shop across the street in Water Tower Place.  When the renovation was complete, the Water Tower Place shop was doing so well it was decided to keep both open.   

Then came word that Pottery Barn was closing (actually, it's already closed) its North Michigan Avenue store entirely and that Victoria's Secret would take its place.  So what happens to the VS at 830?  Well, we now know -- Crain's Chicago Business is reporting that the 830 space next to Borders will be taken by Columbia Sportsware -- a new entrant to the city's retail market.  That leaves us with only two Victoria's Secret stores.  How will we cope?

You always hear people complain when Starbucks locates two stores across the street from each other, but somehow Victoria's Secret doing the same thing is OK.  Now we'll have Columbia Sportsware at 830 North Michigan and The North Face at 875 North Michigan.  Hmmm....  Maybe someone can convince REI to move into the vacant former CompUSA space around the corner.