Paul Stuart may be headquartered in New York, but it’s had a presence in Chicago for three decades.
And the retailer celebrated that milestone last week by hosting a party featuring a performance by singer-songwriter Peter Cincotti and food and cocktails by chef Thai Dang of HaiSous.
Over the past 30 years, Paul Stuart has operated several locations in Chicago. Its first space was in the Hancock Center on Michigan Avenue, but that location closed in 2008 when the lease expired. It then relocated to Oak Street and opened a second store on LaSalle Street in the Loop. During the pandemic, the LaSalle Street store was looted so badly that the decision was made not to reopen and to instead focus on Oak Street.
But Trevor Shimpfky, chief executive officer and president of Paul Stuart, was never a fan of the Oak Street location, which was smaller, dark and didn’t represent the modern vision of the company. So when the opportunity arose to secure a bright, two-level, 5,250-square-foot corner location at 822 North Michigan Avenue, he jumped at it. That store opened in January of 2024 at which point the Oak Street store closed.
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Shimpfky said since relocating to North Michigan Avenue, business has increased 35 percent. That store features banks of windows on both floors and an exposed tailor shop which allows passersby to check out the work being done by the team. In addition, he said since that store opened, the company noticed that seasonal product sold more briskly than it had in the former location since the layout allowed for better merchandising.
During the anniversary party, Shimpfky said customers as well as fans of both Cincotti and Dang visited to raise a glass. “It was a great evening,” he said.
In New York, Shimpfky said Paul Stuart has been experiencing strong sales at its Madison Avenue flagship due in large part to the return-to-office requirements by many businesses including JPMorgan, which recently opened a massive new headquarters on Park Avenue in Midtown.
“We’re seeing a rebound in traffic,” he said. “Return to the office is happening for a lot of companies, office vacancies are fewer and we’re feeling the results.”
Paul Stuart was founded in 1938 by Ralph Ostrove and also operates branches in Southampton, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. There is also a clearance store across the street from the Manhattan flagship. The retailer also operates 80 shops-in-shop and close to 500 corners in Japan. Since 2012, the company has been owned by Mitsui, the company’s longtime Japanese licensee, which purchased it from the founding family.
