ADIEU, LANVIN: Lanvin will close its Chicago boutique at 116 East Oak Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood, according to a source familiar with retail real estate in the area. The French house opened the store, which was once home to well-known retailer Ultimo, in March 2013. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said St. John would be moving into the space after renovating the store. “It’s a pretty blank canvas inside the Lanvin space,” the source said.
Calls to the Lanvin and St. John stores confirmed the stores would be closing. St. John has a boutique at 919 North Michigan Avenue. A Lanvin salesperson said the store would be closing within two weeks. An e-mail to Lanvin public relations was not returned.
A story in Crain’s reported in 2012 that Fred Latsko paid $7.4 million for the former Ultimo store and Lanvin rented the 6,000-square-foot building. It was a 10-year-lease, with two five-year renewal options.
In addition to Chicago, Lanvin has stores in five U.S. cities: Costa Mesa, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.