It’s a subtle transition but a symbolic one. Montgomery Ward & Co. is now referring to itself as simple, plain old Wards.
The transformation, which began under Wards’ new CEO, Roger Goddu, is intended to make the Chicago-based retailer sound a little more contemporary and consumer friendly, said Wards spokesman Chuck Knittle.
Besides, he says, market research found that “Wards” was how shoppers actually referred to the chain, which has been trying to reorganize its business under bankruptcy protection for more than a year.
The abbreviated, hopefully hipper name is now appearing in Wards’ television spots, on company letterheads and executives’ business cards. However, there are no plans to change the company’s legal name, Knittle said.
Even the company’s long-dead founder, Aaron Montgomery Ward, probably wouldn’t have a problem with this change. After all, they’re only dropping his stuffy sounding middle name.
Forever denim: In the old days, most women over 50 wouldn’t be caught dead wearing jeans unless they were working in the garden or cleaning out the garage.
But as Baby Boomers cross the threshold into mature middle age, they’re taking their blue jeans with them. And that is redefining what is considered appropriate casual dress for the generations ahead of them, as well.
Sales of jeans to women over 55 rose 26 percent in 1997, the second-highest growth rate for any age group, according to a survey by Fairchild Strategic Information Services/NPD Group.
Other interesting statistics: women ages 56-70 owned an average 4.6 pairs of jeans and wore them 3.7 days a week.
It’s not a habit they plan on giving up. Two-thirds said they disagreed with the statement: “Jeans are in my past, not my future.”
It’s a good thing, too. With everyone from Donna Karan and Tommy Hilfiger to Sears, Roebuck and Co. and J.C. Penney Co. peddling their own denim lines, everybody better be buying and wearing them.
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Bottega is back: Devoted fans of Bottega Veneta will likely be both delighted and somewhat disappointed at the reappearance of the Italian luxury leather-goods maker in Chicago.
Bottega Veneta, an understated Milan accessories maker best known for its $1,000 woven leather handbags, lost its Oak Street lease six months ago and has been without a Midwestern store since.
Until Saturday, that is, when a new boutique opens without fanfare on Chestnut Street, offering luxurious handbags in leather, calfskin and deerskin, and shoes ranging from conservative black pumps to far-out tweed mules sparkling with Austrian crystals.
Still, the new location may leave some shoppers disappointed. Bottega Veneta’s new digs are housed in just 1,000 square foot on one floor, far smaller than the three-story setup it had before. And Bottega Veneta’s new ready-to-wear line of casual clothing won’t be available. The company has decided to offer it only in New York and Hollywood for now.
Still, store manager Marigale Walsh believes the new store will be well received. Even before opening Saturday, she received almost 30 calls from former customers who couldn’t wait to stock up on Bottega Veneta’s fall collection.
Walsh, the former assistant manager of Neiman Marcus in Oak Brook, is limiting her focus, for now, to winning back old customers rather than going after new local customers.
But she also wants to attract her fair share of tourists shopping the Magnificent Mile. Although the boutique is located on sleepy Chestnut Street, it has an 840 N. Michigan Ave. address because it’s technically in the same building as Escada. That should help lead tourists to Bottega Veneta’s new door, Walsh said.
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