The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-18
SUCCESSFUL WOMEN BUYERS.
They Won Their Positions by Strict
Attention to Business.

Haryot Holt Gotham, In Success.
1t is the buyer that makes or breaks the
department store. Commercial acumen,
or hers, is to be attained only by long years
OF experience. The employee VINO works
for the interest of his employer, and not
merely for the money he earns is the one
who eventually gets to the top. for buyers
command large salaries.
The first thing to be considered by the
buyer is the class OF people whose patron
best, or of medium grade, or the cheap
est. He must have judgment OF what his
public will like, and knowledge or human
nature TO estimate how well people VIII
like 1t, and FOR how long time II VIII De
popular. He must know his market and
keep his eyes open to the stock after 1t is
bought. He must see that no other store
undersells him. He must see that stock
is not allowed to accumulate. and that it
is not permitted to get shopworn. He
must see that attention is attracted 10 IT,
that the advertiser does 1t justice that too
much help is not employed in his depart
ment, and that the statesmen push his
goods sufficiently He must watch u thou
sand different things, for the cash account
tells the story. There is no going back
OF the figures. If the figures show losses
to the firm, the firm holds the buyer re-
sponsible. That last is the situation In
nutshell. The successful buyer Is there
fore, a person with an eagle eye and an
alert sense, so that nothing escapes MIN
He must continually guard against the
Cay of reckoning.
The most highly paid woman employed
by any firm in New York is said to be a
buyer of jewelry representing the Siegel-
Cooper Company, Miss Ida Munzer TACT
brought out by the legislative committee
appointed to inquire into the workings or
department stores. Miss Munzer began her
business career in the Fair the first de-
partment store established IN the Omted
States. She was one OF three employees
with which that store was started in 1877.
1t was there she learned how TO Duy Jew
elry, clocks, cutlery and silverware, ana
two years ago the Siegel-Cooper company ,
secured her services from the New YORK
store. Miss Munzer is JewesS and was
born in Prague, Austria
Mrs. Krauskopf, buyer in the underwear
department Of Best's Lilliputian Bazar and
examples of highly proficient women in
their special line OF work. The former
came from Philadelphia TO accept higher
position, and the latter worked up from a
clerkship in the place where she now holds
a responsible position. Miss Heath selects
designs and buys for the girls'-suit depart
ment, and it is due to her ability that the
firm holds the unique position among its
competitors that it does.
81 learned my business in the practical
training school, the store ITSELF, she told
me. IT made up my mind when 1 went to
work that / would get to the top, and 1
worked with that object in view constantly.
The money L earned was of small conse-
quence in comparison with the interest
tOOh III MY WOth IL cinployC ttiOWS
all her force into her work, the salary
will take care of itself. If / had been
working to draw my salary every Saturday
night in order to buy my clothes and have
a good time, / would be in the same place
where l was when l began. But my en-
ployer's interests were my own from the
beginning"
Miss Annie Weiner, who buys for the
jewelry and toilet articles department in
McCreary's Twenty-third-street store, is
another of the high-salaried employees, as
IS Also Miss Healey, the head and buyer
of the millinery department of the store.
The latter goes to Europe twice every year,
and has the additional responsibility Of en-
ploying trimmers to carry out her ideas,
and, through them, to sustain the reputa-
ton of the firm. The millinery buyer must
be an artist as we'll as financial head l
quote Miss Healey:
81 feel the responsibility that should If
the money / invest were my own. and even
more so, If that were possible. One in my
position must be able to take hold in the
workroom when the trimmer fails and
must be able to detect artistic merit in
helpers when they possess it. There is
every chance for a woman to work to the
top If she has the taste and the judgment,
a pair of qualifications that are natural
gifts. Experience is another consideration.
There are hundreds of women buyers In
New York, and they command from 81 0C1
to $4,000 per year salary. Every store has
its own business methods, but all are on
the lookout to increase business, and no
conscientious worker knows when or from
what source may come an invitation to
step up higher"