Susan Chandler

City officials are happy these days to talk about Block 37. A new developer is busily putting together a plan, and Harrods, the luxury London department store, has openly expressed...

It's one of the truisms of retailing: Men hate to shop. That's why department stores so often put men's clothing and accessories on the first floor. The rationale: If men...

It's hardly a revelation that retail employees are largely an unhappy lot. Many make little more than minimum wage, few receive such traditional benefits as health insurance and lots of...

Mayor Daley knows what he wants in downtown Chicago: more trees, fewer fast-food restaurants and a Harrods store on Block 37. The last part is still a long shot, but...

Skin-care companies are doing makeup. Makeup brands are rolling out skin-care lines. Makers of bubble bath are doing both. Never have women had so many choices among moisturizers, foundations and...

The Loop's retail comeback continues. Retail rents stayed on the increase last year, rising 16 percent, to $56.33 per square foot, according to Baum Realty Group, a Chicago-based retail real...

Spike Lee's 1989 movie "Do the Right Thing" was memorable for several reasons, not the least of which was its depiction of a small, family-owned Italian pizza joint that thrived...

OshKosh B'Gosh Inc. was once a pioneer. The Oshkosh, Wis.-based apparel-maker upgraded the style quotient of baby clothing and captured the fancy of an increasingly affluent U.S. middle class in...

If their political careers don't pan out, some Chicago aldermen might consider going into sales. Turns out a group of them have become excellent pitch-men and women as part of...

For the past three years, the Marshall Field's "Fash Bash" has been one of the hottest social events of our all-too-short summer season. The combination of a glitzy fashion show...