Reminiscing about retail

For more than 58 years, Jacobson’s wasthe upscale outfitter for the greater Lansing area, selling everythingfrom dainty white gloves to imported Biedermann Christmas ornaments.

In the heyday of the East LansingJacobson’s, you could take your kids to “Breakfast With Santa” or sitdown for an elegant dinner in the Asian-inspired 1970 East Roomrestaurant. As a Michigan State University grad, you knew you’d arrivedwhen you bought your business attire there, or registered for yourwedding. Opening a Christmas present in a Jacobson’s box wasextra-special, making your heart beat a little faster.

Now you can relive some of thosememories — and maybe reflect on your first formal for the J-Hop — with“Jacobson’s: I Miss It So.” Bruce Allen Kopytek, a Shelby Townshiparchitect, has written the history of Jacobson’s department stores,which began in Reed City in 1838, and grew to become a chain of 30stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida before succumbing tosuburbanization, malls and changing shopping tastes.

The delightful book profiles thearchitecture, the employees and the man behind Jacobson’s, the companychairman Nathan Rosenfeld. The author writes about Rosenfeld’s keenbusiness acumen, but also about his whimsical approach to business.

For example, he tells how Rosenfeldwould award “Million Dollar Roundtable” pins to buyers who basicallyscrewed up and their selections resulted in “million-dollar markdowns.”His reasoning, Kopytek writes, was that “the reward was for takingrisks, and in spite of their mistakes, they were able to learn fromthem.”

Rosenfeld’s legendary sense of humoralso found its way into some store products. There may be someone outthere with a tie originally designed by Rosenfeld as a motivationalgift to employees: Emblazoned with the acronym YCDBSOYA — “You Can’t DoBusiness Sitting On Your Assets” — the tie became a bestseller in thestore.

The 202-page book also highlightsRosenfeld’s attention to detail, a trait he shared with his wife,Marjorie. Before the opening of the East Lansing store in 1970,Rosenfeld noticed the life-sized Russian wolfhounds in a display lackeddog licenses: They were in place the next day when the store opened.

Rosenfeld’s staff meetings were held ata round table where everyone’s opinions were equal; Marjorie demandedthat her tuna casserole be served at meetings of the company’s board ofdirectors.

Kopytek is especially adept atdescribing the architecture and interiors of the Jacobson’s physicalplants, and he singles out some of the more dazzling stores in AnnArbor, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Grosse Pointe,Dearborn and the flagship store in Birmingham. 

East Lansing’s varied locations aredescribed and tracked in a chapter titled “A Capital Idea.” The EastLansing Jacobson’s was first housed in several locations along GrandRiver until 1970, when they were pulled together (with the exception ofthe home furnishings store) in a new state-of-the-art 117,000square-foot location, which closed in 2000 when Jacobson’s relocated tothe Meridian Mall. (The East Lansing space was taken over by Varnes andNoble, which plans to close by the end of the year.)

When the Jacobson’s chain folded in 2002, the Meridian Mall location was converted to a Younkers.

A masterful researcher, Kopytekattributes his interest in department stores to his mother “dragginghim downtown to Hudson’s as a child” and his family’s extensivetraveling. Even as young boy Kopytek kept notes about his departmentstore adventures. When he was laid off from his job a couple years agoas an architect, he started a blog(TheDepartmentStoreMuseum.blogspot.com) to give himself something to do.

“I was searching frantically for a job,” he said, “and I needed a project or I’d go crazy.”

Kopytek had spent most of his architectural career designing banks and credit unions. “You know what happened there,” he said.

A comment on his blog advised him tocontact The History Press, which was looking for someone to write abook on the Jacobson’s chain.

For background, Kopytek called onvarious historical collections but especially the Ella Sharpe Museum inJackson, which houses Jacobson’s corporate records. He also was able togain unlimited access to Mark Rosenfeld, who became chairman after hisfather’s death in 1982.

Two especially enjoyable chapters are “Let’s Do Lunch” and “Nathanisms.” “Let’s Do Lunch” examines Jacobson’s food service, including reproductions of menus and recipes for some of the more popular dishes served in the restaurants.

“Nathanisms” is a collection of down-home colloquialismsabout life or business uttered or written by Rosenfeld. One of myfavorites: “Consumer credit should be used to benefit the consumer andnot the retailer who tries to make his profit on finance charges.”