Crain’s Chicago Business
Excerpt: This family-owned business, which sells custom-tailored menswear at 10 S. LaSalle St., will open a second location at 55 W. Monroe St. on Wednesday (Sept. 15). Owner Sonny Balani says business is booming. “Overall, we’re up 80% over last year,” he says. “There was a lot of pent-up demand.” Customers who had put off clothing purchases during the recession are spending more money now as they dress up, he explains. The company is doubling its workforce and tripling its capacity in 2010. Mr. Balani runs the company with his father, Peter, who started it in 1961. Sonny Balani says the company prides itself on old-fashioned customer service, but the stores have a sleek, contemporary look. The Balanis worked with Apple Inc.’s business-development unit to create “learning kiosks” where customers can see how their custom suits will look — on the screen of an iPad. Flat-screen TVs display recent examples of menswear created by the store’s tailors.
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