The alderman spoke, the neighbors united and the mayor wrote a letter. Despite efforts from city officials last month to rebrand the retail store, the A.J. Wright store in Evanston will close by the end of February, leaving a 60,000-square-foot vacancy in the Evanston Plaza shopping center at the intersection of Dempster and Dodge.
A coalition of city officials and neighborhood residents is taking on TJX Companies, a Massachusetts-based company that owns the T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods brands in addition to A.J. Wright. The off-price label was created in 1998 to target moderate-income customers, according to the company’s website.
Evanston officials are asking TJX to rebrand its A.J. Wright store in Evanston Plaza as a HomeGoods rather than abandon the location completely. HomeGoods sells home decor and furnishings.
“It’s a great opportunity to have a lot of terrific businesses move into there,” Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said, noting the shopping center’s proximity to Northwestern. “Every four years there’s a new need for more furniture.”
Evanston is just one of many communities from New York to California struck by a wave of A.J. Wright closings and consolidations. In a Dec. 10 press release, TJX announced it would close 71 A.J. Wright stores nationwide, including 11 in Illinois, to “improve profitability.” The stores, including the A.J. Wright at 1916 Dempster St., will close by the end of February.
However, 91 A.J. Wright locations across the nation will be saved from closure and converted into other TJX brands. Community leaders in Evanston had hoped the Evanston Plaza location would also be rebranded.
“We must fight to make sure that we have HomeGoods become a partner with us in this community,” said Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd), whose ward is home to the Evanston Plaza shopping center.
A vacancy at 1916 Dempster St. would impact 27,000 people who live within a one-mile radius of the store, according to a letter sent by Tisdahl to TJX. Just blocks from Evanston Township High School, the Evanston Plaza shopping center is part of an industrial park on the western edge of the city that has been revitalized to attract business.
“It’s shocking because they have been here all through the recession,” said Chetachi Osisioma, a caregiver who travels from her home in North Chicago for the affordable prices of A.J. Wright’s Evanston location.
A bright yellow “Store Closing” banner now hangs beneath the A.J. Wright sign at the front of the store. Two liquidation sales signs flank a poster informing visitors the store now accepts welfare transfer cards. Customers are bracing for the store to leave in a matter of weeks.
“I shop here for my kids. They love this store,” said Brenda Hunter, an Evanston resident and mother of two teenagers. “They are sad to see it close.”
For the sake of neighboring businesses and the customers who enjoy them, city officials took on the challenge of reversing the decision from TJX headquarters. Mayor Tisdahl joined six aldermen and a group of local business owners to send a video message to TJX at a Dec. 17 press conference. Concerned Evanston residents were asked to forward complaints to the Massachusetts retailer.
“It was a wonderful protest,” Tisdahl said. “It proved we have a great city council.”
However, shoppers perceive the odds to be against Evanston officials.
“It’s all political,” Osisiom said. “They just want to be able to say they were there when A.J. Wright left, but nothing is really going to happen.”
