|
The effect of outside events on retail success was brought home on Irwin Zazulia's first day at Hecht's. After a meteoric rise at Stern Brothers in New York, Zazulia had been coaxed to Washington by May Department Stores, the parent company of Hecht's. The Sunday before he started work here in August 1971 as a divisional merchandise manager, President Richard Nixon imposed wage-and-price controls. Zazulia arrived to find mostly empty stores.
Hecht's was fighting for customers even on its good days. Zazulia says his experience at Stern's helped. "You learn to ride with the values and benefits of your stores," he says. At Hecht's that meant appealing to a broad range of customers, developing designer departments without shutting out buyers of moderately priced clothes, and sticking with home furnishings when other department stores dropped them.
Zazulia rose rapidly. By 1976 he was executive vice president for merchandising. He became vice chair in 1978 and was named president and chief executive officer in 1980. He retired this July. During his tenure, Hecht's grew from 21 stores to 74 stores in six states and DC. Business surpassed $2.5 billion this year.
Irwin Zazulia developed more than the stores – he developed the talent to run them. Ten of Zazulia's executives at Hecht's have become heads of other May Department Store divisions. Zazulia also strengthened his stores' involvement in the community, supporting the Lombardi Cancer Center, Second Genesis, the Lab School, the March of Dimes, the local chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis society, and the Washington Anti-Defamation League.
Irwin Zazulia still loves retailing. The business is always a roller coaster, Zazulia says, subject to outside influences, from weather to the whims of fashion. But most of the time, he says, it was a very sweet ride.
|
