FAMED CHICAGO RETAILER TO BITE THE DUST - But Not For Lack of Trying!
CHICAGO SHOE SELLER CHERNIN'S SHOE OUTLET GOING OUT OF BUSINESS - ONE OF THE LAST HIGH-VOLUME, HIGH-SERVICE SHOE STORES!
Remember shoe shopping as a little kid - or, maybe, for some, as you got a little older? Doting salesmen, on commission, nicely dressed in shirts, ties, or suits (most were men), trying to sell you one pair of shoes, or two, or three? Ladies, perhaps a matching handbag? Shoe polish and waterproofing? Socks, or, ladies, hosiery?
The pace and volume was high - but the salesman always made sure your shoes fit, and was always friendly.
Fast forward to 2009. Sure, their are discount shoe outlets out there - Parade of Shoes, Famous Footwear, Payless Shoes - but service? Generally lacking. Completely!
At these discounters, you pick out your own shoes from their vast racks. Try them on yourselves. The only employees you encounter simply take your money as you leave.
Not so, here in Chicago, for the original Chernin's Shoe Stores. From modest beginnings on Roosevelt Road on the West Side of Chicago in the early 1900's, Chernin's eventually became a moderate-sized chain. Salespeople worked on rotation serving customers who took a number when they entered the store. All shoes were in the back stock room - sales people personally brought out your size, helped you try them on, and then offered another pair. You likely remember the drill - yes?
Now, as summarized in an articled by Sandra M. Jones in today's Chicago Tribune, the stepchild of the Famed Chicago Chernin's Shoes - Chernin's Shoe Outlet - is going out of business. The Chicago-based shoe chain filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy last Monday.
The current stores were smaller - not the huge outlets of Chernin's past. After the old, larger stores were plagued by falling sales due to increasing big-company competition in the mid-1990's, the original company filed for bankruptcy in 1999. A private equity firm who had purchased the company had difficulty replicating the outlets outside of the Chicago area.
In 2003, former Chernin executives, including current Chernin's Shoe Outlet CEO Randy Shifrin, bought the name rights and opened up the current smaller Chernin's stores across the Midwest. At the moment, there are 19 stores in IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, MD, and TN. Ten of the 19 are in the Chicago area, mainly in the Southern Suburbs of Chicago, and on the Chicago South Side.
Indeed, another memory from our classic Chicago past is now history!
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
