Summer Brings New Life to Chicago Retail

It's been a while since I've written anything good about Oak Street (or, indeed anything at all), so it is with much delight that I recap some of the recent events that have been happening in the neighborhood.

The big news is, of course, the opening of the new Hermès store.  After seeing a raft of other boutiques set sail for other shores, it's great that this has finally come to fruition.  The old Barneys New York space at 25 East Oak Street was huge in comparison to its neighbors, and there was much wringing of hands over having that much vacant space on such a prominent corner.

As you know, part of the building was segmented out for other retail, but Hermès took the bulk of it -- 7,000 square feet -- to replace the location at 110 East Oak Street where it opened in 1989.  I found this photo of the renovated store on the internet (sorry, no photos of my own -- I'm still traveling), and although the changes are subtle, it no longer looks like Barneys.

Outwardly, the "Barneys New York" badge that was carved into the third-floor roofline is gone, replaced by large raised letters on the first floor for people across the street, and a smaller set for pedestrians.  The Hermes branding has gone up on both Oak and Rush Streets, and most importantly -- the signature red Barneys awnings have been replaced with creme colored, Hermes-branded ones that match the rest of the facade.

Inside, the store is described as "roomy" -- an adjective that one would be hard-pressed to use to describe the old Barneys space, especially on the first floor.  It was a maze of counters and shopgirls and product displays fighting for attention.  As unappetizing as the warren was for regular shoppers, the bridal fitting area was a disgrace, and the back of the house was even worse.  In the end, the move to build a new Barneys New York store at 15 East Oak Street works out for everyone involved -- Barneys, Hermès, and their customers.

But with a clean slate to work with, Hermes was able to stretch out and properly feature its products in a more elegant environment.  Credit goes to Rena Dumas Architecture, which is the legacy of Rena Dumas whose fingerprints are on every Hermes store around the world.  The old Hermes space was just 3,000 square feet; less than half of its new digs.  According to Women's Wear Daily, the new space is ideally suited for selling clothing, as Chicago is one of the strongest women's clothing markets for Hermés.  Shoe sales are also expected to double, as Hermés has gone from a few shelves of shoes into a proper shoe department.

I'm not sure if they are the most expensive items in the Chicago store, but there is mention in WWD that you can buy crocodile suitcases at the Oak Street store.  They start at $68,000.  A little more affordable, and even more exclusive, is a $375 scarf which was made for the Chicago store, and is only available there.

I've seen some photos of the opening day in the trade press, and it looks like it was a literal circus, complete with stilt walkers, women in jockey costumes, and more.  That's great, as the winter and spring were not kind to Oak Street.  It needed some kind of big event to wake it from its grey malaise.

And the good news isn't isolated to just this one store.  There have been a number of major and minor openings in the neighborhood, some filling in prominent space that was left vacant.  From the Belgian bakery that took the place of Sur la Table on Walton Street to the Gap 1969 store that slotted into the former Jake space on Rush, things are looking up.  And the fewer vacant storefronts there are, the better the neighborhood looks, which attracts more people, and more stores.

Also expected to come to the Gold Coast and Near North Side in the near future: Keep an eye out for Comptoir de Cotonniers, Topshop, Vince, HomeGoods, and Nordstrom Rack.  While not all of these brands are at the top of the retail food chain, there's a good mix that will appease locals, international visitors, and tourists from I states.

More Acorns Fall From Oak Street

It's been a painful couple of years documenting the long series of closures that have turned Chicago's Oak Street into a shadow of its former self.  The economic crisis has hurt boutiques along the street, and the hit keep on coming.

The latest bit of bad news -- Crain's Chicago Business notes this week that Liz Claiborne is trying to sublease it's Lucky Jeans space at 47 East Oak Street.  Liz has been very active on Oak Street over the last year.  It recently renovated its Kate Spade store at 56 East Oak Street after moving across the street from 101.  Liz then moved Juicy Couture into the 101 East Oak Street location.

The news at number 47 is only worsened by another note from Crain's that we tweeted about earlier this week -- that the space next door at 45 East Oak Street is for sale.  Loro Piana is in there now, but its lease expires this autumn and the building's owner wants to unload the property.

Jake Says "Goodbye"

I've read in the retail trade press over the last year or so about problems at Rush Street boutique Jake. I don't go into detail about who says what about whom here, but it's all about money.

About two weeks ago one of our regular tipsters said that she heard that Jake was going to close.  But I shy away from rumors, so I didn't do anything with it.  A week ago I saw the same claim made on a web site, but again without any sourcing.  Now it appears to be true.

One of our camera clan e-mailed this picture this morning.  It's nice to see that Jake is using a very classy sign to say "goodbye" rather than just a taped-up piece of paper like we've seen others do.

It's yet another hole in the Oak Street shopping district.

While on the topic of things unconfirmed, there's scuttlebutt that Yves Saint Laurent isn't coming back to Oak Street anytime soon.

We wrote a couple of months ago about YSL closing up shop. At the time, the people at the store said it was just a renovation.  Of course, when businesses renovate, they tend not to remove their signage and black-out the windows. Usually there's a helpful "Back in a couple of months!" sign.  Not so at YSL where the boutique has even been removed from the company's web site.

Some have said that YSL closed while it looks for a new location.  I don't buy it.  If you're just moving, then you find a new location first, kit it out, then move.  Just like Kate Spade did when it moved from 101 East Oak Street to 56 East Oak Street, or like Hermes is doing right now moving from 110 East Oak Street to the old Barneys New York building at 25 East Oak Street.

It should be noted that YSL recently closed it San Francisco and Madison Avenue, New York stores as well.  I'd wager those cities will get replacement YSL boutiques long before Chicago does.

Another Oak Street Boutique Goes Dark

Over the last few months we've told you how what was once Chicago's premier shopping street has become quieter and quieter.  Some stores are moving to new quarters, while others are taking advantage of the recession to renovate.

One of our readers e-mailed us photos of an empty store and of a sign taped to the window of Tod's (121 East Oak Street) showing that it, too, is taking a break to rejuvenate itself.  The paper indicates that the store will reopen next month.

Two weeks ago, the Yves Saint Laurent store (51 East Oak Street) also shut down, and promises to reopen in a few months.  Kate Spade (56 East Oak Street) just reopened over the weekend after undergoing its renovation.  Hermes continues to build out its new store in the old Barneys New York space (25 East Oak Street), and Marilyn Miglin still has signs up indicating that work continues on its space at 112 East Oak Street.

Of course, the ongoing bad news is that there are still a number of vacant spaces on Oak that show no signs of being reborn.  Most prominently 58, 56, and 72 all right by each other.

Would The Last Boutique on Oak Street Please Turn Off The Lights?

Another Oak Street boutique is taking advantage of the crummy economy to re-tool.

The Yves Saint Laurent store at 51 East Oak Street closed last Friday (January 23, 2010).  Word is that the interior is being completely renovated.  The new design is based on plans from Paris and is intended to upgrade the Chicago location to flagship status.

When will that be?  At this time it's anyone's guess.  Estimates are running two to three months.

Also closed to renovation is the Kate Spade store across the street at 56 East Oak.  It is expected to reopen by the end of the month.

For those of you keeping score at home, the following spaces are closed on Oak Street:

• 25 East Oak Street (Formerly Barneys, soon to be Hermes)
• 51 East Oak Street (YSL, reopening in a few months)
• 56 East Oak Street (Kate Space, reopening sooner)
• 58 East Oak Street (The dead Esquire Theater)
• 68 East Oak Street (Formerly Citibank)
• 72 East Oak Street (Formerly G'Bani)
• 112 East Oak Street (Soon to be Marilyn Miglin)

A block over, 52 East Walton Street is now empty.  It was Sur La Table, and there was word that some kind of bakery or cupcake shop or something was looking at the space, but the signs on the windows state the space is still available, so it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

The good news is that 102 East Oak Street is no longer shuttered.  It's now the home of Colletti.  It used to be Atlas Galleries.

How can shops like YSL and Spade afford to shutter their doors when consumer spending is down?  The logic is that it's better to close when spending is down than when spending is high.

Anyone who follows the retail press knows that high-end shoppers are mostly sticking to New York, London, Dubai (yes, still Dubai), and the major Asian markets these days.

We keep hearing from people who work in Chicago's retail sector that the few tourists who choose to make Chicago their destination continue to balk at the city's high sales tax.  By one estimate, half of the high-end north side shoppers who inquire about the sales tax end up walking out without buying anything.

It's not that they can't afford 10.25%, it's just that no one likes getting gouged.  And those who can afford it wonder why they should pay an extra 10.25% at Chicago boutiques when they can get the same item in other cities for less.

And the math doesn't just work for the well-to-do.  I know ordinary people in Chicago who fly to Minneapolis to do their back-to-school shopping at the Mall of America.  With zero sales tax on clothing, and a much lower sales tax than Chicago on everything else, they end up saving enough money to more than pay for the plane ticket.

Gotta get me some kids.

Slice of Life: A Little Something to Thaw Your Nards

I'm actually writing this on a warm day in the middle of August, but I'm scheduling it to auto-publish in the middle of January.  The reason is to remind everyone why we live in Chicago.  Why we endure the wind, the cold, and the occasional snow.  Just click on the picture and drink it in.

Follow-up: Hermes and Little Miss Matched on Oak Street

As a follow-up to an article earlier this week, I went by the Little Miss Matched boutique that's opened in the former Chelsea Passage space at 39 East Oak Street.  I haven't received any answer to my inquiry with Little Miss Matched, but based on what I saw, I'd say this is a temporary pop-up store just for Christmas.  The floors are damaged and scarred and there's white sheets instead of walls in the back of the shop.

Also, One of our regular readers e-mailed some pictures to me today showing the new Hermes logos on the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street).  Inside is still supposed to be a mess, but the fact that there's new window coverings means that progress is being made.

 

Old Barneys New York Space Gets Its First Tenant

One of our eagle-eyed readers snapped this photo of a new Little Miss Matched boutique taking space in what used to be the Chelsea Passage portion of the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street) before it moved across the street to its new building (15 East Oak Street).

Little Miss Matched is a girl's and cute young woman's clothing, bedding, and accessories store with a theme of encouraging mismatched patterns and colors.  Think "Kate Spade" before Kate took the money and ran and her brand became yet another division of Liz Claiborne.

I, for one, welcome our new mismatched overlords.  As someone who tweaked the authorities in my Catholic school by wearing florescent colored mismatched socks because the dress code didn't address socks, I consider myself a pioneer in the field of asynchronous fashion.

Whether the LMM boutique will stick around remains to be seen.  There is no mention of the Oak Street location on the company's web site or in any recent press releases, so it's possible that it's just a temporary pop-up store for the Christmas shopping season.

The orange color extends beyond the Chelsea Passage portion of the former Barneys store.  I took this picture a couple of days ago of the orange window linings on the other side of the building.  Orange is also the color of Hermes, which at last report, still planned to move into the 25 East Oak Street space.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (2009 edition, part 7)

One of our quasi-regular e-mailers sent us this photograph of a satellite truck parked in front of the Esquire Theater the other day.  Someone told her it was a reporter from Fox Business Channel, presumably doing a piece on holiday retail sales.

Slice of Life: Blimps Over the Beach

The best view of Oak Street Beach isn't from the shade of a tree at the edge of the sand. It's from the Good Year Blimp hovering overhead.

Now Open: Piazza Sempione

I know there are several regular readers of this blog who have been wondering what the status is with Piazza Sempione.  The upscale Milanese retailer took the space at 34 East Oak Street formerly occupied by Sugar Magnolia and covered it up with a big wooden facade bearing the cryptic opening date "soon."

We're happy to report that Piazza Sempione opened over the weekend, and appears to be doing brisk business.  It's good to have another retail hole filled on Oak Street.

Update: Piazza Sempione, Oak Street

Someone wrote in a few weeks ago asking for an update on the Piazza Sempione boutique on Oak Street.  It's taking the place of Sugar Magnolia a couple of doors down from the Prada Store.

Outwardly, there's nothing to see other than the huge "opening soon" sign obscuring what's going on behind.  But word from people who know is that construction continues, the project is not stalled in any way, and should be open soonish.  Unfortunately, I couldn't nail down what "soonish" means.

Shuffling the Acorns on Oak Street

Another move is being made in the ongoing retail chess match that is the Oak Street corridor.

With Barneys New York now across Rush Street in its new building, the old Barneys New York building is going to....

Hermes.

The French luxury retail is going to move from its nice but narrow location at 110 East Oak Street

and into a portion of the former Barneys New York building on Oak and Rush (25 East Oak Street, to be precise).

Hermes will be able to spread its wares across parts of the first two floors of the store, giving it a huge presence akin to the Prada store across Oak Street.  One corner of Chicago will have French, Italian, and Arab flagship stores.

Hopefully Hermes will do a better job with its window displays than Prada does.  For the last couple of years, Prada has only had one or two real showcase windows, while the rest are taken up by colors, patterns, or lame video screens.

This is great news for Oak Street, which has some serious vacancy problems.  25 East Oak is a big space to fill.  Bringing in something to fill the Hermes space should be a little easier, even though it leaves vacant spaces at 58, 68, 72, 102, 110, and 112 -- all on the north side of the street, and only significantly interrupted by the intrepid Sarah's Pasteries (some of which I was given for Easter, thankyouverymuch).

But there is still the question of the Barneys New York's Chelsea Passage space.  That building is not part of the Hermes deal, and we haven't heard of anyone nibbling at it just yet.  But hopefully having Hermes as a neighbor will make it more attractive and easier to fill.

A couple of other minor notes -- There will have to be some sidewalk construction in front of 110 East Oak when Hermes moves.  The store has its logo in brass in the concrete.  Similarly, when it moves into 25 East Oak, Hermes will have to fill in the "Barneys New York" that is carved above the third floor corner window.

--Update: April 19, 2009--

According to Crain's Chicago Business , the amount of space that Hermes will take up in the old Barneys building will actually be less than the space it has now.  The 110 East Oak Street location has 5,600 square feet, while Hermes is taking only 4,600 square feet of 25 East Oak.

Bits on Barney's

Here are a few more notes about Barney's New York's move across Rush Street to its new store.

• The workers don't have to work weekends for a change as they help ferry the inventory across the street.
  
• Barney's cosmetics department is going to start carrying Bobby Brown and La Mer.  Before now those were considered "lower class" brands relegated to the likes of Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue.  If you asked for La Mer at Barney's before now (it's really fantastic on sunburns!) you would get a serious sneer, a toss of the hair, and if you're lucky the makeup maid would only walk away from you.
  
• It's unconfirmed, but we hear that Barney's has joined the ranks of most other large companies and instituted a hiring freeze.
  
• The inside of the new building's stairwell looks really cool, and there's a picture floating around the internet: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7065/0903130140web.jpg  You can see the Prairie School architectural homage.
  
• In case you missed it earlier, the new Barney's store opens Thursday, April 16th, 2009.

Barney's On The Move

Barney's New York was closed today for the first day of it's big move across Rush Street. The long-awaited transition cones after years of demolition, construction and preparation.

Papa Milano's Italian restaurant, a bar, a cupcake joint, a button store, and a Bang & Olufsen outlet either moved or closed to make way for the new department store.

Barney's management had long been unhappy withthe diminutive size of the previous space. Unfortunately, the upgrade cones in the midst of a bad economy where even luxury shoppers are asking shopgirls for plain brown bags to hide their consumption.

Hopefully the new store buying frenzy won't cool off too much and bring a little more life to Rush, Oak, and Walton Streets.

Tourists aren't Barney's usual customer, but these days no store is in a position to turn its nose up at a dollar. Hopefully someone will tell that to the unnecessarily snooty black-clad makeup mob that will now put the "sell" in cellar.

Update: Miglin Stays, So Does Baccarat

Following up to our story from the other day about 112 East Oak Street , I have found out what's going on in that space.

Those of you who are regular Oak Street strollers have noticed that in the last couple of weeks the small Marilyn Miglin sign pledging to return in the Spring has been joined by massive Baccarat posters claiming the same space for June, 2009.

I got in touch with someone at M.M. who explained that Baccarat will be on the first and second floors, while Marilyn Miglin will be on the third.  The opening date still seems fluid, but she offered June as a possibility, which would coincide with Baccarat's planned opening.

It should be noted that even though the Oak Street location is being renovated, Marilyn Miglin still operates a boutique inside The Claire (55 East Pearson) so you can continue to get the products and services you need.

Barney's New York Opening Date Update

We received an e-mail from a tipster (well, actually a text message -- what's up with that?) nailing down the dates for Barney's New York's big move across Rush Street.

We're told that the current Barney's store on the corner of Oak and Rush will close Sunday, March 29th, and the new store on the corner of Rush and Oak will open Thursday, April 16th.

You'll recall that Barney's was said to have originally planned to make the transition in late March so it could be open in very early April, but was later delayed by construction .

Still, the only official date we've seen yet is "Spring," so if this second proposed set of dates doesn't work out, Barney's is still covered.

Who's Boutique Is It Anyway?

In the last few years, Oak Street has undergone many changes as high-end retail fled the suburbanization of Michigan Avenue retail and filtered into the side streets of the Gold Coast.  Dozens of boutiques have moved in, moved out, or traded spaces jockeying for just the right position on the leafy corridor.

But never before have we seen two businesses claim one space.

Here's a look at 112 East Oak Street last Autumn:

At the time it was home to the Marilyn Miglin boutique.  Then on January 2, 2009 Miglin closed up for what its web site calls "renovations."  A sign on the door promised the boutique would return.  In fact, the sign is still there.  This photo was taken March 21st:

But a wider view shows that tiny Miglin sign has been trumped...

...by giant Baccarat signs.  

Yes, the king of crystal is coming to Oak Street.  And according to the full-window signs, plans to occupy 112 East Oak Street in June of 2009.

Currently, Baccarat only operates a small in-store boutiquelet at Macy's On State .  It will be nice for it to have a showplace of its own, and one in a better location.

Baccarat will nicely complement Harry Winston and Graff Jewelers across the street.  Moreover, it will hopefully keep the once-coveted, but now-pedestrian Swarovsky from opening its one millionth store on Oak Street, and keep the Austrians firmly in Water Tower Place with the legions of bus-tour Iowans in Mom Jeans.

We placed a call to the number on the Marilyn Miglin sign in search of clarity, but got an answering machine.  We'll try for a human again later.

Status Update: The New Barney's New York Store

We haven't heard anything new about an opening date for the new Barney's New York Store at the intersection of Rush and Oak Streets in the Gold Coast in a while.  The last rumor we heard was "late April" and the only official word is "Spring," which can mean anything in Chicago.

But from the outside, things are pretty much done.  The signature awnings went up last week, the sidewalk has been cleared for pedestrian traffic and the windows are papered over as workers frantically try to dress the inside of the store.

Even the old Barney's location is getting into the anticipation with its main curved display window referencing events "across the street."  That curved display window has been copied in the new building, and expanded to five stories, housing a showy staircase that we can't wait to get in to catch views of the Gold Coast below.

The front of the glass cylinder has some Wrightian accents tacked on to it, as does a few other portions of the facade.  These are supposed to pay homage to Chicago's architectural heritage.  Whether they achieve that goal or not is up to your imagination.  Still, the doors of the new store have been revealed and they're quite nice.  Dark and classy, but large and inviting.

And Barney's knows it's not going to be the new kid on the block forever.  Remember that there's multi-story retail planned for the other end of the block where Gino's East used to be.  In anticipation, the Barney's building casts a blank facade in that direction with the exception of a newly added "Barney's New York" sign on the Rush Street edge that should remain visible as long as the Starbucks remains undisturbed.  And considering the time, money, and effort put into renovating that branch of the coffee chain just a couple of years ago, it's unlikely anything taller will sprout on that lot for a while.

Barney's Opening Date Rubble

As construction has progressed on the new Barney's New York store at the corner of Oak Street and Rush Street, it's been surprisingly hard to find out when the new 90,000 square-foot shopping mecca will open.

Many stores would put up big "Grand Opening" banners with dates to generate anticipation.  The best we've gotten out of Barney's is "Spring" -- and quite possibly for good reason.

As we reported a little over a month ago , the plan was to close the existing Barney's New York on March 15th and open the new store April 2nd.  That's not exactly how it's going to be.

Construction delays have Barney's pushing the whole thing back so that the new tentative opening we're hearing is "late April."

Considering that "Spring" in Chicago can mean anything from March 1 to June 30th, having a vague date on the signs makes the planners at Barney's look like the smartest kids in the class, rather than ones who blew an opening date.

+1 for foresight.