CMC Bows Market Tuesday Event
The California Market Center debuted its Market Tuesday concept with a book signing by Judy’s stores founder Marcia Israel-Curley.
The Feb. 4 event kicked off the new concept, in which tenants are encouraged to open their showrooms and buyers are invited to shop markets at the CMC’s apparel, gift and home showrooms.
Israel-Curley discussed her retail career, which dates back to the opening of the first Judy’s store, in East Los Angeles, in 1948, and signed copies of her book, “Defying the Odds.”
CMC director of merchandising (and one-time Judy’s district manager) Karen Mamont led the discussion with Israel-Curley and invited members of the audience—including former Judy’s employees, clients and vendors—to query the retailer.
“She’s the reason I’m in this business,” said Mamont in her introduction of Israel-Curley.
The retailer discussed the secret of her success—and its later influence on specialty retailers like The Limited.
“I was very young, and I designed what I wanted, and it was a huge success,” she said. “It took 25 years for the Judy’s concept to catch on with the world.”
Judy’s grew from a tiny 7-foot-wide storefront in East Los Angeles to a chain that spanned five states with 104 locations and 2,000 employees.
Israel-Curley’s love for the store she founded and helped grow was evident in her near-obsessive dedication to each successive store’s success. She related a story from her book in which she checked on the demographics of Las Vegas before opening a location there. To ensure that there were enough young people in the neighborhood, Israel-Curley drove around checking each garage to see if it contained a bicycle. —Alison A. Nieder
