Susan Chandler

It's not unusual for large retailers to make major charitable contributions. Target Corp. donates 5 percent of its annual profit to charity. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. regularly works with schoolchildren, building...

We like Nordstrom's chutzpah. Most retailers don't like to be pinned down too closely about when a new store will open. Some are willing to provide a season, such as...

Five years ago, Sears, Roebuck and Co. exited the insurance business by spinning off Allstate, a company it created during the Depression and nurtured for 64 years. Now the Hoffman...

Retailers long have struggled to attract high-quality, professional employees who treat customers with the respect they deserve. In a tight job market that pits retailers against industries with better pay...

Like other hardworking politicians, Chicago aldermen have long wish lists: more effective community policing; fewer undercover probes; more economic development. When it comes to development, the aldermen often end up...

Ames Department Stores Inc. is taking its ethnic shoppers seriously. Ames, a full-line discount retailer based in Rocky Hill, Conn., has launched a Spanish-language version of its Web site, AmesStores.com....

When Ikea entered the Chicago market in late 1998 with a Schaumburg store the size of seven football fields, local retail experts predicted the business of selling furniture and housewares...

Ultimo always has been an intimidating place to shop. The name alone implies that shoppers who look at price tags probably can't afford to be there. And the clubby feel...

Cole Haan, the upscale shoe maker, stands for something: high-quality leather, traditional styling, penny loafers. Now the beloved brand of aging preppies is getting a shot of youth, courtesy of...

What do you do when you're the daughter of Marilyn Miglin, the queen of cosmetics on Oak Street and Home Shopping Network? You can rebel, refusing to use eye shadow...