November 29, 2005
So long Saks, hello Steve and Barry's
Back in May, we reported here at the Old Orchard Observer about Saks Fifth Avenue gearing up to close at Old Orchard. The store finally did close at the end of July.
Before Saks did say good-bye, there were various levels of Store Closing sales. Amy and I dropped by many of these to check in on the progress of clearing out the large Saks space. The Old Orchard location had 3 levels (main, upper, and basement). Here are some photos we took during those final days.
Inside the store, many of the fixtures were for sale, though it seemed like quite a few were earmarked for other Saks locations.
Eventually, all mention of Saks would be removed from the mall. This electronic sign mounted on the Professional Building was quickly changed after the Saks closing to remove the name of the store (and they probably fixed the burned out lightbulbs as well).
Signage was removed from the main Saks building as well, resulting in a very empty, barren spot. Much like everything at that end of Old Orchard.
You may remember that back in June, word was leaked that Westfield was considering adding a lifestyle center element to Old Orchard. According to the plans made public, this would involve the demolition of both the Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue anchor buildings. I haven't heard anything new since that news came out, but we did wonder if Westfield would leave the Saks building vacant or try to find a new tenant. That question was answered in October when the Chicago Tribune reported on a tenant to fill the space:
$10-or-Less Clothing RetailerSource: Chicago TribuneSteve and Barry's University Sportswear was founded in 1985, and while it seems like a good short-term fit for Old Orchard, my money is that they have a short-term lease with Westfield so that the lifestyle center plans would not be harmed.
A new style for Old Orchard
October 7, 2005
By Becky YerakGone are the days when shopping malls relied solely on department stores as anchor tenants.
At Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, a $10-or-less clothing retailer is moving into a vacated Saks store, an example of how even upscale malls in well-heeled areas are rethinking the notion of who should occupy the biggest spaces.
Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, which sells inexpensive men's, women's and children's clothes including jeans, jackets and licensed college goods, will occupy all three floors of the 105,000-square-foot space vacated by Saks in July. It is expected to open next month.
The privately held Port Washington, N.Y., firm typically operates stores ranging from 20,000 to 150,000 square feet in less prestigious malls.
"This is our first Class A mall," Steve & Barry's spokesman Rick Gomes said.
"They came to us because we're a company who can put something in quickly," he said of the retailer's relationship with mall owner Westfield Group.
At Old Orchard, Steve & Barry's joins such traditional mall stalwarts as Marshall Field's, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. Spaces for those retailers range from just under 200,000 square feet to 400,000 square feet.
As retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. open hundreds of free-standing stores a year, malls are trying new ways to remain relevant to consumers, particularly younger ones, and are looking beyond tried-and-true conventional department stores as key tenants.
"We thought Steve & Barry's would be a great addition and bring a different clientele," said Thomas Sikoral, Westfield Old Orchard general manager.
In May, Steve & Barry's was named in an International Council of Shopping Centers survey as one of retailing's five hottest merchants--along with Apple Computer Inc., Coach Inc., Williams Sonoma Inc. and White House Black Market, a subsidiary of Chico's FAS. Inc.
In a May interview, Steve & Barry's co-founder and co-Chief Executive Barry Prevor, said he is interested in any mall anchor spots that might open up as a result of industry consolidation, which recently has touched such retailers as Sears, Macy's and Marshall Field's.
Mall developers, he noted, have become more open-minded about what constitutes an anchor tenant in light of mergers that are making department stores more homogeneous.
"If a mall has four department store anchor spots, and one goes vacant, then years ago mall management would have thought, `Get another department store.' Now, they say, `We have three department stores selling the same brands at the same prices. What would be the point of bringing in an identical department store?'" Prevor told the Tribune.
"So they look for alternative uses. This has been one of the great drivers behind our growth," he said.
Steve & Barry's has 87 stores in 27 states and plans to open another 40 stores by year-end.
In June 2004, it opened one in Westfield Chicago Ridge mall in Chicago Ridge, followed in October 2004 by a location in North Riverside Park Mall in North Riverside.
The retailer has plans to open more stores across the area, including outlets at Westfield Fox Valley in Aurora, Randhurst Mall in Mt. Prospect, Westfield Louis Joliet in Joliet, University Mall in Carbondale and in Springhill Mall in West Dundee.
Amy and I checked out the new store shortly after they opened. While the merchandise was somewhat appealing (mainly for price), the store itself looked like the new tenants had done nothing to remodel the space. Thus indicating that this is probably not a long-term solution for Old Orchard. But we'll see.
The addition of Steve & Barry's will help The Promenade section of Old Orchard not seem so dead, but I'm not quite sure that it fits the image that the mall is trying to portray. Then again, Westfield has already done a pretty good job making the mall more crappy, so anything goes these days.
Posted by Tannerman at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2005
Now Open: Foot Locker
The new Foot Locker located over in The Vineyard is now open, next to the new PacSun. Combined, both of these stores replace the old Record Town/Sunday Matinee which was vacated earlier this year.
Posted by Tannerman at 12:24 PM
July 15, 2005
A Magical Night
Like everyone else in the world, Old Orchard is capitalizing on the Harry Potter craze with the release of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Barnes & Noble will be running a promotion from 9 p.m. to midnight today, featuring activities for those waiting around to pick up the 6th installment in the Harry Potter series at midnight.
Westfield is also offering face painting and stuff in the Food Court and the serpent play area. In addition, the first 250 cusomters to hit the Customer Service booth (oh, I'm sorry, it's a "Concierge Center") will get a free goodie bag containing a crazy treasure map so you can hunt around the center. Not a bad idea for a promo, I must say. That runs from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. tonight.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:10 PM
June 29, 2005
Coming Soon: Foot Locker
With the exit of Record Town/Sunday Matinee in The Vineyard, their space was divided into two smaller stores. The Old Orchard Observer has already covered the first tenant in the western half of the space (PacSun's new location).
We're proud to announce that the eastern half of the space will be occupied by Foot Locker. This is an interesting move, as the mall just saw the exit of Lady Foot Locker and soon will see the entrance of NikeWoman. There is already a Finish Line store located on the other side of the mall. The new Foot Locker will be situated near Theaters 7-12, Maggiano's Little Italy, and Barnes & Noble. Interesting neighbors, to say the least. Perhaps they are hoping for the youth traffic spurred by the movie theater.
Posted by Tannerman at 04:42 PM
May 06, 2005
Busy serving overpriced ice cream
When Amy and I stopped by Old Orchard this past week, we noted that Cold Stone Creamery not only had the construction walls down, but also was hoppin' with business. It does look like a great location with Theaters 7-12 right across the way and a couple restaurants around the corner. We'll probably know better come summertime.
No word yet on how the custom flavor of Skokie Crunch tastes.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:18 PM
New Location: PacSun
Not too long ago, the rather large Record Town/Sunday Matinee which was located in The Vineyard closed for good. It was located right next to Theaters 7-12. But hey, who still shops at record stores in the mall? There's nothing but overpriced goods to be found there, thus, they're closed.
The small Pacific Sunwear of California location that was previously found in The Garden has moved into the now-subdivided Record Town/Sunday Matinee storefront. Rebranded simply as PacSun, this is a larger store in a far more visible area.
Posted by Tannerman at 04:52 PM
April 21, 2005
Cold Stone Creamery adds custom flavor
Per the Official Site, the new Cold Stone Creamery in The Vineyard section of Old Orchard is slated to open on April 30.
Cold Stone Creamery will celebrate their grand opening by introducing a special Skokie Flavor: Skokie Crunch. Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen will be the celebrity scooper at the event. During the grand opening celebration from noon to 2pm a portion of sales will benefit United Way of Skokie Valley. For extra fun, a clown will be on hand from 1 to 4pm and a balloon artist will entertain children from 4 to 7pm.
Posted by Tannerman at 11:56 AM