The grocery and discount retailer Meijer made headlines earlier this month with its second wave of store openings in the Milwaukee area. Shock waves have already been reverberating through other parts of the retail community here since the opening of a Nordstrom Rack discount store in the past year.
Milwaukee is relatively friendly to discount retailers. However, the opening of Wisconsin's first full-fledged Nordstrom department store shows it is also a competitive place at the higher end.
While Milwaukee does have select some boutiques that have sold more expensive clothing for years, opening a national retail-boutique like Nordstrom's will fulfill people's expensive taste without making a trip down to Chicago.
"It will be really interesting, but I think from the shopper's perspective it's a really good time to be a shopper, " says Milwaukee Magazine associate editor ClaireHanan.
With this national chain coming to the city, it will call for some innovation from the smaller independent businesses and boutiques. Hanan's article on the changing face of the city's retail industry is in the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine, and she explains the impact of the new storefronts:
