ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110079
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
The sales counters at the Lazarus Jefferson Street store say it all.
At each station, an old rotary telephone sits next to a modern electronic cash register. That's the key to the longevity of the business, which has survived for 72 years in the volatile market of women's clothing.
Generations of Roanoke women have shopped at Lazarus because the store offers the latest styles along with old-fashioned service, said Chip Lazarus, who runs the business with his wife, Lee.
Although the Lazaruses operate only four stores - the others are at Tanglewood, Towers and New River Valley malls - and Roanoke is not a major market, their years of association with the industry give them as much purchasing power as larger stores and major chains, Chip Lazarus said. The company also is represented by the largest fashion consulting firm in the country, which helps it buy the latest styles.
Although they could easily delegate the buying to their employees, the Lazaruses prefer to handle it themselves, traveling to fashion shows in New York several times a year. Chip Lazarus specializes in ready-to-wear items, such as dresses and suits, and Lee Lazarus handles the growing sportswear trade.
Back in Roanoke, the stores are staffed with saleswomen who have been trained to advise customers about fashion as well as wait on them.
This is especially important at the New River Valley store, which does good business with young women who are about to graduate from Radford and Virginia Tech, Chip Lazarus said. They need suitable clothes for job interviews and often don't know what's appropriate.
Some members of the sales staff have been with the business for 10 to 15 years, Chip Lazarus said. They keep records on purchases by longtime customers, and often will call them when an outfit arrives that might suit their taste.
The business began in 1924, when Chip Lazarus' father, Simon, bought a downtown millinery shop and later expanded it to include women's clothing.
Chip and Lee Lazarus, who met while working together at Thalheimers in Richmond, were newlyweds in 1961 when they took over the business from Chip's parents, who died around the same time.
That also was the year Towers and Crossroads, Roanoke's first two malls, opened. The Lazarus family made sure they had branches at each location.
Throughout the years, other branches followed. At times, there were Lazarus stores in Martinsville, Harrisonburg and at Valley View Mall.
Perhaps another key to their success is that although the Lazaruses are not hesitant to expand their business, they also know when it is time to give up on a particular venture.
The Valley View store closed earlier this year because "the nature of the mall has changed," Chip Lazarus said.
The proliferation of discount stores there has drawn a different kind of customer, Lee Lazarus said, and when it came time to weigh renewing the lease against the cost of remodeling, they chose not to.
The same situation is occurring downtown, Chip Lazarus said. Although the Roanoke City Market has been phenomenally successful, the retail trade has declined, and stores such as Heironimus have been forced to close their downtown branches.
The downtown Lazarus store was once the chain's busiest and occupied all three floors of the building, but more customers now are drawn to the Towers and Tanglewood stores, he said.
The Lazaruses keep the downtown store open because they own the building and because their business offices and shipping and receiving operations are housed in the upper floors.
"Selling is icing on the cake," Lee Lazarus said.
The clothing they offer appeals to the "middle American," they said. There is no bargain basement, but neither are there $700 designer fashions.
"We have what the customer wants at the price she wants to pay," Chip Lazarus said.
Lazarus' marketing methods have changed little over the years. Although the company does some direct mailing, its print ads have appeared in Roanoke newspapers since the business was just a millinery shop.
Word of mouth is important, too, Chip Lazarus said, but many customers come to the store simply because it is has been around so long and is so well-known.
Ultimately, Chip Lazarus said, the success of the business lies in "good employees and long hours of hard work and dedication." |f ri Lazarus Inc.
312 S. Jefferson St.
Roanoke, Va.
342-3111
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