DOWNERS GROVE, IL-Savers Inc., a for-profit thrift-store chainbased in Bellevue, WA, has opened its first store in the Chicagoarea here, in a former Circuit City big box store at the corner ofInterstate 88 and Highland Avenue. The move mirrors two currentretail trends, the growth of thrift stores in a down economy andnon-traditional tenants taking bankrupt big-box locations.

Aegon USA Realty Advisors recently sold the property here toLearsi & Co. for an undisclosed sum. Joe Parrott with CBRichard Ellis represented the seller, while Jim Sakanichrepresented the buyer. Prior to the sale, Savers signed a 10-yearlease for the 31,000-square-foot building.

The tenant has a unique business plan, partnering with localnon-profit groups by purchasing and reselling donated items. Thenon-profits collect and deliver donated goods to Savers, which thenpays the organization a bulk rate for the items regardless ofwhether or not they ever make it to the sales floor. Reusable itemsare displayed for purchase in stores, while unsuitable items areshipped to developing countries and material wholesalers forrecycling. Savers, which also operates as Value Village, wasfounded in 1954 has more than 250 stores in the United States andCanada.