Looters invaded Chicago’s upscale “Magnificent Mile” last night, as nominal protesters responded to a police-involved shooting. blockclubchicago.com reports that Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Gucci, Nordstrom Rack, Timberland, Burberry, Ferragamo, TJ Maxx, Macy’s, Walgreens, Best Buy and a 7-Eleven were ransacked. Watch store looters? There are four major watch sellers in the Mag Mile, and more than a few jewelers . . .
OMEGA, Montblanc, Marshall Pierce, Bvulgari and Apple are all in the shopping district.
Bulgari tells TTAW that they were not affected. As of this writing, we only know for sure that the Apple Store and the OMEGA boutique were hit. chicagotribune.com:
Crowds repeatedly tried to bash in the windows of the Omega watch store at Delaware Place and Michigan Avenue.
“The watch store,” one officer said. “They’re gonna get it eventually.”
The “unrest” began Sunday afternoon, after police responded to a report of a man with a gun in the city’s Englewood neighborhood. foxnews.com:
While pursuing that individual on foot, he “turned and fired shots” at officers before being struck himself and taken to a local hospital, Deputy Chief Delonda Tally told Fox 32 Chicago.
A crowd that had gathered at the scene then faced off against police and started hurling objects at officers after getting agitated over a false rumor that the suspect – who is in his late teens or early 20s – was a child, investigators add.
Given the history of high street mob violence and theft, it’s safe to assume that the watch store looters came away empty-handed. Around the country, watch stores have secreted their entire inventory in safes, leaving nothing on display to “tempt” looters.
The greater damage: the Magnificent Mile’s reputation as a place to shop for upscale watches and other luxury goods. Safety was already a big issue, with COVID-19 making retail shopping a dangerous business in general, and some 2,249 people shot in the city as of July 29.
Given this summer’s history of watch store looters, every main street watch store in America is struggling with the same COVID crisis and consumer wariness about going into downtown areas.
Suffice it to say, watch store looters are out there, somewhere. And faith in the police’s ability to prevent violence and looters has been severely shaken.
Watch retailers depend on Christmas shopping for the lion’s share of their annual sales. While the U.S. economy is on its uppers, this could be the worst Xmas season for watch retail since The Great Depression.
Nobody hit the tourneau store eh? That’s where I would have headed.
I knew a German woman who finally visited western Poland–which, as you know, used to be part of Germany. For many years, she would not think of going there, because she did not want to see what the Communists had done to the region. She finally visited several years after the Communists were deposed, and was pleased by how authentic the post-Communists had made it look.
What do you do if your girlfriend has a positive memory of visiting the Magnificent! Mile!, only a few years ago, and mentions how she’d like to relive that memory? I guess it is safest just to forget about Chicago, at least until the Communists are no longer in power.