Creating memories Chicago style

Navy Pier sets the bar high for gifts and souvenirs, and Love From USA’s four stores in that location are exceeding expectations.

For Janet Roman, the best thing about managing four souvenir and gift stores at the history-steeped Navy Pier in Chicago is meeting new people and hearing stories about their travels, their lives and their day at the pier.

“We love them!” she says of the customers who visit the stores.

With its breathtaking views of the Chicago skyline, Navy Pier is a top-attended nonprofit destination in the Midwest, spanning more than six city blocks and hosting over 9 million annual guests, giving retailers a plethora of customers to love.

Originally opened in 1916 as a shipping and recreation facility, this 104-year-old Chicago landmark showcases more than 50 acres of parks, restaurants, attractions, retail shops, sightseeing and dining cruise boats, exposition facilities and more along Lake Michigan, says Navy Pier General Manager Seth Kagy.

Roman manages Dockside, Neighborhood Urban Gift Shop, This Socks! and Art-K-Texture stores at the pier. The retail stores are owned by Patricia Chinander, who is the founder, CEO, president and designer of Shoreview, Minnesota-based Love From USA Group Inc.

From the ground up

“I would spend my time at the kiosk when I wasn’t at the hospital. After some time, I decided to take a leap of faith and take on growing this business from the ground up. After 45-plus years, here we are! A small kiosk has turned into Love From USA with 26 stores, one e-commerce business and one wholesale division serving the nation,” she says.

The stores she owns on Navy Pier are an integral part of the operation. Roman, the Navy Pier stores’ manager, grew up in Chicago’s Pilsen area and has lived in the city all her life. After a 20-year career in customer service, she started working for Love From USA six years ago.

Her role with the company is training and development as well as customer concerns. The Neighborhood Urban Gift Shop, Art-K-Texture and This Socks! stores are located at the front of the pier, while Dockside is located midway down the pier near the food court area. The company recently combined Art-K-Texture with a 77 Flavors store to make Art-K-Texture much larger. “This allowed us to double our space and create an efficient layout for customers to shop in the store freely,” she says.

A tale of four stores

“The lovely collections come together to visually create a sense of neighborly love and a distinct vibe that celebrates the rich and diverse culture within the area,” she says.

By highlighting a city’s landmark buildings, major attractions, architecture and places of interest, Art-K-Texture was born. The brand thrives in a high-traffic venue that allows customers to peruse the store while exploring the city’s architecture. With products ranging from brain-teaser games to architectural books, this store showcases a city’s best feature — its architecture, she says.

“When you have a beautiful skyline, you can’t help but celebrate the pure skill, talent and hard work it took to develop and build that skyline,” Chinander says. “That’s why we wanted to create a brand that honored the great architects, builders and team it took to build up that city.”

Dockside celebrates life off the shore of Lake Michigan with Navy Pier’s beautiful backdrop of the Chicago skyline. Chinander says the store offers apparel, hard goods and loungewear.

And at This Socks! shoppers can find all types of socks in bright colors and soft knits and with humorous themes.

Mementos and memories

Every year is different, but top-selling souvenirs include Al Capone, Chicago Flag and Lake Michigan collections. Additionally, apparel and jewelry are best-selling items, she says. A wide range of products for all the company’s markets are designed by the business’ Minneapolis-based creative team, and most of the products are exclusive to the company and its brands.

“It takes a team, but we have a great buying team who tracks trends,” Roman says. “Our management, leadership and customer service teams also play into making sure we stay on top of visuals, promotions and employee engagement.”

This mindfulness for the store environment translates into attracting customers. “We attract repeat and new customers with our rotating products, store layouts and the quality of our merchandise,” she says.
Roman says customers are intrigued by the names of the stores, and that outside of selling souvenirs, “we sell memories” and make customers feel at home. “We enjoy our time at work, and it shows. We love to laugh, sing and dance through the workday. It’s great energy,” she says.

It varies by season, but each store has between two and five employees. She says, “having a great team, the right type of product and prices that you can’t beat,” are key to success as a destination retailer.

Moving into the future

The company currently has 26 store locations in Minnesota, Chicago, Florida and Colorado. It is a 100% Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and woman-owned business with family members involved in all aspects, from design and operations to human resources and marketing.

In addition to the stores at Navy Pier, the company has retail operations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, O’Hare International Airport, Denver International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, Minnesota’s Mall of America and other high-profile shopping venues.

With a strong success record at O’Hare, Orlando, Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airports, the stores maintain average secret shopper customer satisfaction scores from 95%-98%.

“Our mission is to provide our customers with an extraordinary travel convenience and gift shopping experience, and to capture lasting memories that are reflective of the local culture and lifestyle of the areas where we operate,” Chinander says.

Chinander prides herself in developing exclusive brands and concepts that are unique for each market the business expands into. She is involved in the design process — from product and concept design to branding and visual merchandising.

The company also has a heavy focus on giving back to the community through engagement, initiatives and partnerships. Chinander maintains a close relationship with partner organizations, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Animal Humane Society, Rocky Mountain Conservancy, American Cancer Society, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Public Schools and others.

In addition to giving back, Chinander supports local artists and businesses within all markets, and she is committed to growing her business with the times while allowing time in her schedule to support/mentor others in growing their own businesses.

Chinander says the company has a “great in-house visual merchandising team that travels between all our store locations.”

Working closely with the company’s buying and marketing team, the visual merchandisers can gather key products together based on a theme, color, holiday or marketing initiative.

In all, the company has 125 employees, with a director of training and a human resource team handling the interviewing, onboarding and in-store/headquarters office training.

“Through this onboarding program, our store teams can come into their role learning the ropes firsthand through these trainers, the store managers and regional store managers,” she says.

Her favorite part of the job when it comes to the pier is the people and the place. “We have a great team at Navy Pier. When we come to town, it’s fun to take the employees to new restaurants and try all the great food Chicago has to offer,” Chinander says.

What better way to enjoy a trip to Chicago than by getting immersed in a culture that is epitomized by the iconic Navy Pier attraction, which is truly the People’s Pier.