Legendary jeweler C.D. Peacock returns to Michigan Avenue this fall, and this time around, it will have both sides of the Chicago River covered.
Signing leases for locations in the North Bridge development and 360 N. Michigan Ave., Peacock has taken an unusual step, hoping to tap shopping segments on both ends of the bridge, whether they are tourists, residents or office workers.
The lease at 360 N. Michigan, being dubbed the Crain Communications Building, involving a move there by that publishing firm, involves 2,500 square feet of space.
Peacock will have 1,000 square feet in the North Bridge development, in a gallery of shops near the new Nordstrom. Both will open in late September.
Indications are that the Peacock location at 360 N. Michigan, which opens in October, comes at a much better rent than the location across the bridge. Gone are the days when a new retailer on the Mag Mile would get a free ride, at least for the first few months or even a year.
Seymour Holtzman, an Eastern-based executive who bought the Peacock trademark in 1993, won’t discuss details, but he does say, “You can’t be a player in Chicago retailing without having a presence on Michigan Avenue.”
He won’t get much argument on that score. Peacock already has locations in Northbrook Court, Oakbrook Shopping Center and Woodfield mall.
Holtzman acquired the Peacock name after its former management had closed a store at Chicago Place (700 N. Michigan) in 1992.
Peacock has been doing well in the suburbs. Joe Murphy, the Chicago-based president, says sales have been “phenomenal.”
More suburban locations are in the works. Murphy says the retailer is aiming for two other locations in 2001 with Holtzman adding that an additional two are likely the following year.
– Eppraisals.com, a Chicago-based firm headed by longtime auction authority Leslie Hindman, is assigning its ad account to Bozell Chicago, sources indicate. Separately, Cramer-Krasselt Chicago resigned Oce-USA Inc., a manufacturer of copying, printing and document management systems. Oce had picked the agency four years ago. Also, Kraft Foods kept J. Walter Thompson USA Chicago as agency for its Knudsen cottage cheese, following a competition for the creative portion of the account, Leo Burnett USA being the other contender.
– R.R. Donnelley & Sons, in another round of reviewing public relations firms competing for what might be a $1 million fee income PR account, Monday holds meetings in New York with the Manhattan offices of Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and Golin/Harris International. Meetings will be held Wednesday and Thursday with the Chicago offices, which would be the lead agencies on the account, involving both corporate PR and PR for the firm’s units. Some observers believe Hill & Knowlton may have the edge in this competition. H&K last week was named lead global PR agency for Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc.
– Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. the last week of June begins shipping to the trade its two new gum-flavor line extensions–Extra Polar Ice and Eclipse Polar Ice–the former under the Wrigley’s Extra name and the latter under the Eclipse banner. This means these new gums will likely be available at retail in mid- to late July.
– John Hershberger, recently chief technology officer for Toy.com and previously director of database management at Ameritech Corp., became assistant VP, database marketing, a newly created post, for Allstate Corp.’s Allstate Life Group of Cos. subsidiary in Northbrook. Other personnel: Lisa Harriss promoted to VP of production services, Robinson & Maites … Jeff Maiers became a Chicago-based senior account manager for Phase2Media’s Prodigy division, with responsibilities including overseeing on-line ad sales and business development.
Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to Jennifer Krimstein, 33 (Arthur Andersen); Ann Ladd Pitcher, 38; Osco (Wilmette) pharmacist Bradley Miller, 64; Brett Thomas, 39 (DiMeo & Co.); barber Bob Cordova, 51; Ashley Hall, 33 (Park Community Church); Matt Drohan, 57 (BP Amoco); and George Gingras, 58 (Dairy Farms Inc.).
– Employment Law Learning Technologies, a recently formed San Francisco firm specializing in employee conduct training, picked Chicago agency K&R/MARC for marketing communications, including advertising ( part of the latter on the Internet). Budget is $3 million.