Old Orchard Observer

A place for cocoa nuts: Mars opens chocolate cafe
Friday, July 15, 2005
By Amy Chozick, The Wall Street Journal

At Ethel's Chocolate Lounge... couples and families relax on plush pastel-colored furniture, eating champagne chocolates and sipping mocha drinks. Behind a glass pane, espresso, pina colada and honey-flavored truffles sell for about $42 a pound. A sign reads "Chocolate is the New Black."

More precisely, Mars Inc., the closely held candy giant behind Ethel's (named after the late matriarch of Mars), is betting that chocolate is the new coffee. Decorated with pink-and-brown striped wallpaper and whimsical lighting, the new chain is Mars's attempt to make lingering over a plate of premium chocolates in a cafe space as mainstream as drinking a morning latte at Starbucks. For a company best known for making mass-market products like Twix and Snickers bars, this means transforming a lowly commodity into a high-price luxury.

Coming Soon: Ethel's Chocolate Lounge

...The $14.5 billion U.S. chocolate industry could use a shot of espresso. Dominated by decades-old products like Hershey bars and M&M's, the industry has posted annual sales increases of less than 3 percent from 2002 to 2004, reports the National Confectioners Association, an industry trade group. Meanwhile, sales at upscale coffee and cocoa stores (a category that includes Godiva as well as sit-down spots like Starbucks) rose 20.6 percent in the same period.

...The chocolate lounge dates back to 17th-century London, about a century after cocoa was brought to Europe from Latin America. Designed or the elite, European chocolate houses offered comfortable seating where the upper crust could socialize while drinking hot chocolate. Today, chocolate is still consumed in Europe more regularly than it is in the U.S., where consumers and manufactures have a more populist approach to it.

Posted by Tannerman at 12:04 PM

June 29, 2005

Now Open (again): Sunglass Hut

Remember back in May when we asked the question, "Why are there 2 Sunglass Huts?" At the time, there was a stand-alone location on the north side of Pear Lane and a Sunglass Hut/Watch Station combination store on the south side of Pear Lane. We witnessed the stand-alone location being demolished.

Well, it looks like that location was actually undergoing a renovation rather than a removal. The next day a white construction wall was put up. A few days later, there was a sign noting that the store was "Closed for Remodel". Then, shortly after that, the store was reopened as Sunglass Hut once again. And frankly, the front of the store looks very similar to the old store. Maybe the interior is different; I can't really tell. At the time of demolition, it looked like they were ripping everything apart, so I'm impressed with how quickly the store reopened.

Posted by Tannerman at 06:05 PM

Renovation: Papyrus

The Papyrus store located on Pear Lane is walled off for renovation these days. In the meantime, they've got a temporary location over in Vacancy Alley (The Promenade). Papyrus is the retail division of Schurman Fine Papers, "one of the finest organizations in the social expression industry." I didn't realize that there was a "social expression industry." Apparently that's more fancy that "paper and greeting card crap industry."

Posted by Tannerman at 05:52 PM

Coming Soon: Sisley

According to their website (which is rather risqué), "Sisley features men and women's collections whose basic objective is to be always on the same wavelength as those who follow fashion and keep themselves abreast of the trendiest tendencies. The collections, in fact, include sporty and casual wear, formal and elegant dresses - therefore an all-round offering for every moment of the day and for various needs."

Um, OK. They are owned by the Benetton Group (you know, the United Colors of Benetton folks) and are "the Group's most trend-setting brand, at the forefront of fashion." As Old Orchard already has a United Colors of Benetton store (located on Pear Lane), Sisley makes sense as a new addition. Look for it soon down in The Garden.

Posted by Tannerman at 05:22 PM

Now Open: Landau

It's time for an update on the fake jewelry folks at Landau. Their new store is now open on the corner of Pear Lane and Fountain Court, located right next to Clarks, a shoe retailer. The store seems, well, out of place if you ask me. I also think they aren't taking advantage of their window space very well. Perhaps that will change as they get operations going. We'll see. With Clarks and Landau open, there is only one more store on this corner that needs to shed the construction walls: H2O Plus.

Posted by Tannerman at 04:07 PM

June 08, 2005

Sunset at Old Orchard

Sometimes, a pre-summer night visit to Old Orchard reveals unexpected beauty...

Posted by Tannerman at 11:06 PM

May 06, 2005

"Why are there 2 Sunglass Huts?"

A few weeks ago, we were walking through Old Orchard and Amy commented, "why are there two Sunglass Huts?" And doing a double-take, she was right? There was a stand-alone store on the north side of Pear Lane, and a combination Sunglass Hut/Watch Station on the south side of Pear Lane.

However, as of Wednesday night, there is now only the combination location, because a demolition crew was there gutting the stand-alone store. By the next day, there were construction walls around the space. What was odd is that demolition was actually taking place during mall operating hours, typically a no-no for liability and aesthetic reasons. But apparently, Westfield doesn't care about such things.

Sunglass Hut/Watch Station are owned by Luxottica Group, which is also the parent of LensCrafters, among other things. It's the largest retailer of sunglasses in North America. The company was founded in 1971 and acquired by Luxottica in 2001.

Posted by Tannerman at 05:36 PM

"Sea-Derived Skincare" sails to new port

When Rogers & Hollands wanted a corner location, this prompted H2O Plus to find a new home. They're constructing a new location right next to the new Landau store on Pear Lane.

No word on when this new location is going to open, but it's probably a lot cheaper in rent than their previous spot.

Posted by Tannerman at 05:11 PM

May 03, 2005

Will Old Orchard get FAT?

Ah, you have to love Paul Pressler. He's currently the President and CEO of Gap, Inc. But before that, he spent 10 years running the Disney theme park empire into the ground. If that was his goal, he did a fine job. You see, he wasn't a creative guy. He was a business-oriented, retail guy, having gained favor at Disney via his successful reign with The Disney Store. Eventually, he left Disney due to various factors and started at Gap in September 2002.

What does this have to do with Old Orchard? Well, for one thing, the center already has a Banana Republic, in addition to combination Gap/Gap Body and Gap Kids/Baby Gap stores. Old Orchard also offers Talbots and J. Jill. Why mention those retail locations? Because Gap is launching a fourth store brand targeted directly at the same market... with Chicago being a testing ground for 4 new stores called Forth & Towne. The name refers to the company's fourth store brand (after Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy) and "Towne" is supposed to convey a sense of community.

Chicago a 4-store lab for Gap's Forth brand
Becky Yerak
May 3, 2005

The Chicago market soon will be a retail laboratory for Gap Inc.

When the San Francisco-based merchant begins testing its Forth & Towne format in Chicago this fall, it'll try new approaches to see what works and what doesn't. Four Forth & Towne stores will open in yet-to-be-announced malls and shopping centers in the Chicago area. A fifth will open in New York.

"We'll experiment with different ideas across the five stores to understand what really resonates and then apply what we learn to future openings," Gap Chief Executive Officer Paul Pressler said in an April 21 conference call. "This includes testing the right combination of store experiences, styles, quality, fit and value."

Finding the winning formula for Gap's fourth retail concept is important because Forth & Towne seeks the affections of women who are 35 and older

That demographic is increasingly coveted by retailers because it's growing rapidly and earns the highest average income of any age group of women, Pressler said. Typical customers at the company's namesake chain are 18 to 34. It also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. While younger women typically shop at specialty stores, older ones tend to default to traditional department stores. "They don't feel there's a viable alternative," Pressler said.

Forth & Towne prices will fall somewhere between Gap and Banana Republic. The test stores range in size from 8,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. That's bigger than other specialty retailers wooing that demographic.

For example, Janeville stores, launched last year by Gymboree Corp. for women in their mid-30s and older, are 3,000 square feet. The typical store of Chico's FAS Inc., whose clothes are known for their forgiving fit, is 2,600 square feet.

Stocking a wider array of sizes will be a Forth & Towne hallmark. "We want to make sure we offer a broad size range" so we can serve shoppers with different needs, Pressler said.

The fitting rooms will be in the center of the store, surrounded by "neighborhoods" of merchandise. Gap executives, echoing recent comments by Federated Department Stores Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren, are waxing poetic about how a decent dressing room helps convert store traffic into sales.

Gap expects to have about 30 Forth & Towne stores through 2007.

The chain is being developed by Gap veterans and new talent based in New York. "They're functioning like a start-up," Pressler said.

Chicago was picked as a test market because it's centrally located and has a "great demographic" of women 35 and older, a Gap spokeswoman said.

Source: Chicago Tribune

No word has been made yet regarding which shopping centers in the Chicago area will get the 4 test stores. Also odd is the spelling of the name "Forth & Towne". As mentioned by Snarkmarket.com, they misspelled both "fourth" and "town". Go figure. And over at SnarkHunting.com, it's illustrated how Gap was smart to use the ampersand in the new store name rather than spelling out the word, as the initals for the chain would then reflect Forth And Towne. Would that really describe the 35+ women's market?

We here at the Observer will keep you posted on future developments!

Posted by Tannerman at 01:55 PM

April 28, 2005

Pre-opening look at Sigrid Olsen

As previously mentioned, today Sigrid Olsen opened their new store at Old Orchard, which is located in the Pear Lane part of the center. During our "date night" last night, Amy and I dropped by the new location just to see what it looked like. Obviously the store was not open yet, but you could peer in through the windows.

What we saw was actually not that impressive. Looked like basically a bunch of clothes that utilized a soft, pastel color palette. However, given that this location is at Old Orchard, they are most likely overpriced. That pretty much describes 75% of what you find there anyway.

I was actually surprised at how small the space seemed. There is not a lot of square footage there, but they are on the main thoroughfare between Marshall Field's and Lord & Taylor. If course, they are also surrounded by other specialty clothing retailers, so best of luck in trying to get their products to stand out.

Posted by Tannerman at 02:38 PM

April 27, 2005

Sigrid Olsen opening April 28

Another retailer that is opening soon at Old Orchard is Sigrid Olsen, a clothing specialty chain that is owned by Liz Claiborne. Here is the press release which highlights their store opening on April 28. It's interesting to note that the release references the mall as "Old Orchard Center" and not the Westfield-mandated "Westfield Shoppingtown Old Orchard":

Fashion Designer SIGRID OLSEN Announces Opening of Chicago Suburb Store
Tuesday April 26, 3:25 pm ET

NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Fashion designer Sigrid Olsen brings her nature-inspired, artful clothing line to the women of the Chicago suburbs with the opening of her store at the Old Orchard Center. Opening on April 28, 2005, the SIGRID OLSEN store is the second in the Chicago area, with the first in Oakbrook Center.

"My goal is to create an uplifting experience for the consumer in an environment designed for meeting her lifestyle needs," says Sigrid. Sigrid knows that women in Chicago are educated about fashion and crave clothes that make them feel confident and feminine.

Showcasing Sigrid's sportswear line in a relaxed, comfortable shopping environment, the store brings to life the company motto of "vision/art/clothing/life" by the artistry and beauty of the space and its contents. Honey stained gauged oak, raw black metal, and woven sisal carpets are paired with antique items, drawing on Sigrid's inspiration from nature.

For Spring/Summer 2005, Sigrid presents a line full of floral prints and garden palettes. Inspired by the act of arranging a bouquet, Sigrid chooses color stories with complementary shades. Silhouettes are modern and feminine, with special attention paid to the must-haves for the seasons - jackets and skirts.

An artist by trade, Sigrid launched her sportswear line 20 years ago and has seen it grow from casual resort wear to a lifestyle collection of year- round sportswear. SIGRID OLSEN is the core of the brand, with an emphasis on coordinated color and novelty driven collections. Collection focuses on quality fabrics and attention to detail, imbued with Sigrid's sense of color. SO be it is the artful evolution of comfort casual with a fresh contemporary spin. All divisions, including SIGRID OLSEN handbags, will be featured in the store.

Old Orchard Center is located at 34 Orchard Center in Skokie IL. Store hours are 10am-9pm, Monday through Friday and 11am - 6pm on Sunday. In addition to the new store, there are twenty-seven SIGRID OLSEN retail stores nationwide. The line is also available at select department and specialty stores.

Source: Sigrid Olsen Press Release

Posted by Tannerman at 09:57 AM

April 25, 2005

Movin' on up with Rogers & Hollands

For some reason, jewelry stores like to be situated at corner locations in malls. There is probably some nifty piece of research out there promoting how they do well in these types of areas, because you see it everywhere. Old Orchard has its share of jewelry stores. I know this because Amy and I actually visited most of them when we were shopping for wedding rings a few years back.

A Midwest-based retailer of jewelry that you often find in shopping centers is Rogers & Hollands. Up until recently, they had a non-corner space located on the east side of The Garden section of Old Orchard. I actually bought a wedding band for myself there before we got married. However, I found something better elsewhere and later returned the first ring.

In any case, Rogers & Hollands is moving to a new location that is actually not too far from their previous location. And surprise, surprise, it's a corner that faces The Park section, right across from a fountain. The space was previously occupied by H2O Plus, which is also moving to a new location in the Pear Lane section of the mall. No word on when the new location is opening for Rogers & Hollands, but I must say that their temporary construction walls look really cheesy.

Posted by Tannerman at 11:46 AM

Fake jewelry finds its way to Old Orchard

Apparently, a Landau store is "Coming Soon" to Old Orchard Center (I still refuse to call it Westfield Shoppingtown Old Orchard). From the looks of their website, this is nothing to write home about. A little poking around on the Web reveals that "Landau is the largest chain of elegant accessory boutiques in the world with over sixty exclusive boutiques located in the most exclusive shopping settings."

Is there really a big demand for costume jewerly?

Posted by Tannerman at 11:19 AM

April 21, 2005

NikeWomen store arriving Summer 2005

There is a lot of retail development going on at Old Orchard right now, more than we've seen over the past year, in my opinion. Pretty much anywhere you walk through the center you'll be greeted by construction walls proclaiming something is "Coming Soon". One such addition to this North Shore shopping mecca is NikeWomen (officially Nike spells it as "nikewomen"... go figure).

Old Orchard's store is slated to open "Summer 2005," so that leaves a pretty broad timeframe (though the construction wall states "July 2005"). Interestingly, this is only the 8th standalone NikeWomen store in the country. All but one are in California (with the oddball in Georgia), so I would imagine this will be some sort of tentpole for the region. You'll find the others at Fashion Island (Newport Beach, CA), The Grove (Los Angeles, CA), South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa, CA), The Shops at Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA), Stanford Shopping Center (Palo Alto, CA), Fashion Valley (San Diego, CA), and Lenox Square (Atlanta, GA).

Unlike a NikeTown store, which we have in downtown Chicago, NikeWomen stores are "designed to strengthen Nike's relationship with female customers through a lifestyle approach rather than the sports imagery themes found in other Nike stores." Um, OK. Apparently rather than looking like a Foot Locker, with footwear on one wall, apparel somewhere else, NikeWomen stores integrate all that stuff. For example, they display products on tables, next to coordinated outfits. There are no hard benches or locker-room decorations. Nike says that "walking into a NikeWomen store will feel like coming into someone's home." Except that this person will try to sell you stuff.

Apparently, the chain used to be called NIKEgoddess, but was renamed recently. Gee, don't know why that first name didn't work out!

Posted by Tannerman at 07:33 PM