BY LISA BIANK FASIG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The founders of LaRosa's and Essential Concepts are among 25 of the nation's "Retail Entrepreneurs of the Year" named in the December issue of the trade magazine Chain Store Age.
Donald "Buddy" LaRosa, who built the chain of 53 pizzerias, is described as "a charismatic leader and successful entrepreneur" who "takes a genuine interest in everyone he meets." It lists 1997 sales of $85 million.
Frederick Holzberger is primary shareholder of Essential Concepts, owning 51 percent of each of the 11 stores. The former salon owner became a wholesale distributor for Aveda in the early 1980s, eventually gaining exclusivity in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky.
In 1994, he founded Essential Concepts. His stores average sales of $800 to $1,000 a square foot.
Ernst & Young founded the Entrepreneur of the Year program in 1986. Award criteria include history, financial growth, business experience, prospects, major accomplishments and community developments.
Nominees are owners or managers primarily responsible for business performance.
Postal inspectors offer hints to buyers
If it's convenience you want, never send money first. And for Pete's sake, always get the delivery date.
These are a couple of hints for kitchen-table consumers as they buy their holiday gifts via telephone or through the Internet, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says.
Tony Esposito, spokesman for U.S. Postal Inspection Services, said direct-merchandise retailers can rob shoppers in a variety of ways, including the common "failure to render."
Americans are expected to spend $4.7 billion on online purchases this year, the Direct Marketing Association said. That compares with $2 billion last year.
A few tips to avoid a rip-off:
- Order only from catalog or retail companies you know.
- Never send cash. Keep complete records of the transaction instead of waiting for the receipt.
- Get a firm shipment date. Merchants are required by federal law to ship merchandise when promised or no later than 30 days from the time of sale.
- Get in writing all policies on refunds, adjustments and warranties.
- Do not accept damaged goods.
Professor skeptical of online retailing
For all the hype surrounding e-commerce this year, it's a wonder people are even going to stores. But at least one retail observer is raising a voice of skepticism.
Eugene Fram, a marketing professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, predicts that profits for the majority of online stores in 1999 will be elusive.
"The Internet will remain a clutter of unrefined merchandise information," he says in a statement. "Remember Amazon.com still has not turned a profit, despite its huge stock price."
At the least, he said, e-commerce is becoming "more adept at Internet marketing."
Among Mr. Fram's other predictions: U.S. retailers will look for international opportunities for expansion (Federated Department Stores has already done that this year); business downsizing will accelerate a bit; and businesses will continue to experience price pressures.
National retail business roundup
Some of this week's headlines pulled off the wire:
J.C. Penney this week expanded its Latin American business when it agreed to buy a Brazilian retail chain for $33.3 million. Lojas Renner, which operates 21 stores in southern Brazil, reported 1997 revenues of $210 million. Penney also operates five stores in Puerto Rico, two in Chile and two in Mexico. A third Mexican store is planned next year. . . . Wal-Mart, meanwhile, is bolstering its German presence through an agreement to buy 74 large-format stores from Spar Handels AG. The move would give Wal-Mart control of about 13 percent of the German retail market and more than double its sales in Germany to about $2.9 billion. . . . In other Wal-Mart news, Alice Walton, daughter of the chain's founder, plans to sell 2 million shares of Wal-Mart stock as it hovers around all-time highs. Shares are up almost 95 percent from the year's start, closing Friday at 76.31 1/4, up 56 1/4 cents.
