Zara Opens New, Expanded Flagship Store At Westfield Old Orchard Mall

SKOKIE, IL — Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara opened its newest location Thursday at Westfield Old Orchard mall in Skokie.

The 28,000 square foot store is located in the recently redeveloped former Lord & Taylor space, which it shares with a home furnishing brand and a mini-golf restaurant. Previously, Zara operated out of a smaller space on the north side of the mall.

The new "flagship store" has a modern design with a two-story glass façade that allows natural light to permeate the space, as well as a stone portico accentuating the entrance.

Women's clothing makes up the first floor, with the men's and children's sections upstairs.

"The store’s interior is accented with clean and neutral tones and natural textiles that create a backdrop for the character of each section," company representatives announced.

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The Skokie Zara store incorporates various technologies to integrate in-store and online shopping, including a fitting room reservation system, two-hour pickup for online orders and digital tools that let customers check stock online.

And an automated storage system for online order collection can handle up to 650 orders, in a first for Chicago-area Zara stores, according to company representatives.

Officials at the company, which has pledged to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, said the Old Orchard store has systems designed to minimize its environmental impact, including efficient heating and cooling, LED lighting and sustainable building materials.

It is also connected to a company platform called "Inergy" that monitors its energy consumption.

Zara was founded in 1975 in A Coruña, Spain. It has since expanded to more than 200 markets. It is part of the global fashion retail group Inditex, which also the brands Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti.

In Illinois, Zara currently has stores in Chicago, Oak Brook and Schaumburg.

Related: Westfield Old Orchard Ownership Reveals Contractor For Plan To Build 400 Luxury Apartments