The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-17
PIZITZ FIGURED 0N B|G VOL LUME AND
 SMALLER PROFI ITS
Business Has Doubled In Volumn Every Three Years
 For Twenty-Five Years

"Pizitz Sells It For Less was the wording of a sign seen in several de- partments of Pizitz store.
 When did you start that and where did you get the idea?" he was asked.
 Fifteen years ago, out of my head" he answered. Tt is the way to get trade, shart profits with the customers who keep you going, give them to remember it, and then keep y9ur word with them," he said "They tGld me it couldn't be done, when I said I was going to do busi- ness on 19 per cent profit to cover everything. I understand that most stores figure on 27 per cent, or be- tween 25 and 27. It was a risk, be- cause the overhead in merchandist- ing is great, and growing. I figured that it could be done if l could get volume of trade, so I set out to get that volume, and got it. I don't make as much profit on one sale as might, but I make customers at a profit that has enabled me to keep going and for the business to grow"
 O o O
 First Store opened.
 Almost an exact quarters of cen tury it took to prove he was right, He opened a good store in Birming- iiehiii " HSil He came n6re III a UullQ- ing site on First avenue now. occu- pied by the, Alabama Home, a few doors from Twenty-first street. He was there four months, then moved to "Pizitz Busy Corner" Second ave- nue and Nineteenth street. and there he has remained, that first 25-foot front store, rented then, was later bought, then adjoining buildings were rented and later bought, until now the Pizitz location has 40 feet of frontage on Nineteenth street and 200 on Second avenue, half a city block on one side, more than a half on the other. Frontage for six stores Cn Nineteenth stret and for eight on Second avenue of the proportions of the first one, literally doubling the volume of business every three years for a quarter of century; not just during one prosperous period, or a period or SC of good times, but steadily, methodically, purposely, growing, growing, expanding, adding new lines, giving employment to more people, serving. It's hard to find Louis Pizitz in office; he doesn't stay there much. When one wants to see him it is best to take the ele- vator, scan the floors as the car rises, and wherever is seen a larger grCup than elsewher, get off at that floor and head for the center of the group; MT. Pizitz will be there. When he was found in the search for this very information, he was in the coalk department helping a little girl try on her winter cloak. He meets and knows his customers. It was inter- esting to watch hims for the desire had been to see the man himself at work. to get an angle on him and see how he did business. He waited CT that little girl. who could. not have been much over 15 years old. and talked to her as if she were %. It was a serious matter with him and with the child. He was making a sale and a customer; she was buy ing a garment she would very prob ably wear daily for several months. They discussed the matter of ma terial. style, cost as though there were no one else on earth, absorbed, serious. The transaction concluded he turned to serve another customer. He does not have to make sales, but in this day and time when he has great affairs to absorb his attention,