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player ready...If you think that French fashion means wearing black, black and more black, there’s a new store opening this weekend on Oak Street that may change your mind.
Chacok, a Paris-based chain of 27 apparel boutiques, is debuting its Chicago store with a collection of gauzy fabrics and knits in an eye-popping range of pinks, oranges, greens and blues.
Instead of being inspired by the ennui of Paris, Chacok’s apparel takes its cue from the south of France, where bright colors fit the resort feel of the Riviera, explains Laurence Menneron, manager of the new boutique here.
“It’s about colors, it’s light, it’s energy and enthusiasm. It’s easier to wear black, but you miss something,” said Menneron, who relocated from Paris to open the Chicago store at 47 E. Oak St. “We’re here to play.”
Chacok’s prices are moderate by Oak Street standards. An organza tunic runs about $200. A two- or three-piece outfit will set you back $700 or $800. The prices are the same you’ll find in Paris, so jet-setting customers have no incentive to make their purchases in Chacok’s European boutiques.
Size won’t be an issue, either. Chacok’s clothing is internationally sized zero through four, which fits with the clothing’s relaxed feel, Menneron said.
Barbara Travers, a former Chicagoan, is behind Chacok’s migration to the United States. Travers manages Chacok’s three Paris boutiques and is a partner with Chacok’s owners, Yvon Garel and Guy Chenu, in the Chicago store. If Chacok succeeds here, other stores might open on both coasts, Menneron said.
A word to the wise: This color stuff will never fly in New York.
Selling out: Getting rich was the last thing Jack Miller had in mind when he founded Quill Corp. 42 years ago. “I didn’t start with a grand vision; I just wanted to make a living,” he said this week.
He’s done a lot more than that. Last Tuesday, Staples Inc., the giant office supply chain, announced it was buying Lincolnshire-based Quill for $685 million in stock. Miller will split that money with his brothers, Harvey and Arnold, also Quill executives, and their families.
The secret to his company’s success is simple: “We did all the things you should do. We had low prices and great customer service. We paid attention to the details,” said Miller, 69, who started with a $2,000 loan from his father-in-law and a phone in the back room of his father’s live poultry store on North Sheffield Avenue.
In its press release about the merger, Staples emphasized Quill’s role as a major player in Internet sales. But in fact, the company has only had its full catalog of 14,000 items on-line for the past five months.
Just goes to show that when you’re building a retail business for the long-term, it’s really the basics, not the bells and whistles, that count. Ask the Miller family.
Food for thought: Easter is big business for retailers. Last year, consumers spent $875 million on Easter candy. And nearly 50 percent of those celebrating the holiday this year say candy purchases are planned, according to a survey by the International Mass Retail Association.
Candy preferences include chocolate (30 percent); jelly beans (25 percent); creme-filled eggs (11.1 percent); marshmallow animals (7.6 percent); and malted eggs (6.8 percent).
Although many more people indulge their sweet tooth than a craving for a new Easter bonnet, dressing up is still popular with some. One-quarter of those surveyed said they will be buying spring duds for the holiday. Easter-related apparel spending totaled $395 million last year.