Chamber of Commerce Salutes Jewels in L.A. Dept. Store Crown
“This is like our Super Bowl,” quipped M. W. (Bill) Proudfoot. “But we won’t have as big an audience and the betting pool will be smaller.”
There was no Astroturf either at this Super Bowl of department stores, but there was plenty of red carpet and just enough competitiveness to give the event an edge.
The occasion Friday night was the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s 98th annual Inaugural Ball honoring the city’s four major department stores headquartered in Los Angeles and their top officers: The Broadway’s chairman, Proudfoot, and its president, H. Michael Hecht; Bullock’s chairman and chief executive officer, Allen I. Questrom; May Co. president Judith K. Hofer, and Robinson’s chairman, Michael Gould.
As President Reagan pointed out in a taped congratulatory message, all four stores have made significant contributions to the vitality of the community. Dinner chairman Richard L. Weiss also noted that the four “majors,” as they are known, were all born around the turn of the century; as the city has grown in size and stature, so, too, have the stores.
Yet there was also no mistaking that, as Judith Hofer put it, “this is certainly the most intensely competitive market in the world.”
As if anyone needed proof, while posing for photographs before dinner, there was Questrom offering to switch places with Hofer so she could show off “her better side,” and Hofer responding by ribbing him: “All of a sudden you’re being nice to me.” As the photo session wore on, Proudfoot whispered to Hofer, “I think we’re going steady.”
But even if they can be friendly on such occasions, there’s nothing like competition among the big four to “keep our retail careers exciting,” Proudfoot said.
And so, when Bullock’s chairman Questrom stepped to the podium inside the Century Plaza Hotel’s Los Angeles Ballroom, he studied his award a moment, then couldn’t resist enthusing: “Oh that’s terrific. It says, ‘Number one in L.A.’!”
On hand for the festivities were Mayor Tom Bradley and a lineup of officials including Assemblyman Gray Davis, Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp, Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana and City Councilmen John Ferraro, Gilbert W. Lindsay, Marvin Braude, Zev Yaroslavsky and Robert Farrell.
Freshman councilman Michael Woo was wearing the tuxedo he bought four months ago to go with his new job (“I got tired of renting”), and, now that he is adjusting to the dinner circuit, he has finally learned to tie his own bow ties, he said proudly.
The convergence of politics and big business didn’t seem strange to most of the assembled. Most agreed that the two professions have a lot in common. “We’re both always living on the margin,” said Yaroslavsky. “You always have to please people, otherwise you don’t stay in business very long.”
“The consumer is like our voter,” explained Questrom, adding that “fashion follows the political and economic scene, so I think our business is very much related to politics.”
‘They’ll All Be Better Off’
“A good politician,” added The Broadway’s Hecht, “recognizes that a healthy commercial, business and retailing base to their community is going to make the community healthy and they’ll all be better off.”
And, of course, that was the whole idea behind the evening. In past years, the Chamber has paid homage to the three major television networks, Los Angeles fashion designers, movie studios and aircraft companies, as well as the banking and oil industries.
This year, however, the retailers were not only there to be feted, they also provided the entertainment, once Chamber chairman David E. Anderson, president of General Telephone Co. of California, had inaugurated 1986 chairman Roy A. Anderson, chairman of the executive committee, Lockheed Corp.
Everyone acknowledged it was something of a logistical coup to have all four stores presenting the joint extravaganza which highlighted their spring fashions. “Even though we’re arch competitors, we ended up working cheek by jowl,” said Jim Watterson, May Co. vice president of special events and public relations. “But if you really knew what went on. . . .”
The three things that the four stores could agree on were the lighting, the backdrop and the choice of models. Beyond that, each store produced its own segment, pulling out all stops to outdo the others.
Tango Dancers, Reggae
To underscore a theme of body-curving dance dresses, Bullock’s hired tango dancers. The Broadway brought on a reggae band for its tropical swimsuit segment. The May Co. produced a number with all the fanfare of a Broadway musical to highlight its black and white glamour dressing. And Robinson’s staged a church wedding complete with a crate full of white doves for the finale.
Afterward, most of the honorees said that, uncharacteristically, they would be taking Sunday off to watch Super Bowl XX.
Except for Judith Hofer. “Like most retailers, I’m a workaholic and I generally work on Sundays,” she said. “But I do think this Sunday is a great day to go shopping. Most of the men will be home watching TV.”
