March 02--Once online-only, menswear brand Bonobos will soon have a store on the Magnificent Mile.
Bonobos plans to open its second Chicago shop on the second floor of 900 North Michigan Shops in April, a company spokeswoman said.
The company currently has a Lincoln Park store on a stretch of Armitage Avenue that is home to several online retailers with offline stores where customers can check out goods in person. Bonobos, eyewear shop Warby Parker, men's accessories shop Tie Bar and interior design company Interior Define sit within two blocks of one another.
Bonobos' existing Chicago location is doing well, and company officials decided it was "about time" to expand in the city, spokeswoman Erin Grant said. Later this year, the company also plans to open a Miami "Guideshop" -- where customers try on samples of garments that then can be shipped to their homes from Bonobos' warehouse.
Though some 900 North Michigan Shops offer showrooms or bespoke items, Bonobos will be the shopping center's first store where shoppers can't walk out with purchased goods, said 900 Shops spokeswoman Lauren Edelman.
After customers visit the Bonobos store, their purchased items will be sent from the Massachusetts warehouse. Bonobos also sells directly through its website and through Nordstrom.
Nordstrom, which invested $16 million in Bonobos in 2012, owns Chicago-based e-commerce company Trunk Club -- also a clothing company that mixes online and offline sales. Trunk Club ships trunks of clothing and accessories that customers can try on at home or at its showrooms, including its River North headquarters.
lzumbach@tribpub.com
