Perlis Inc. remains vibrant N.O. retail option

Clothing retailer Perlis Inc. turns 65 this year but retirement is not on the agenda.

Perlis revenues jumped 11 percent in 2003 to $7.3 million from $6.6 million in 2002. Most of the increase came from its main Magazine Street location, said President David G. Perlis. Perlis also has a Mandeville location and owns two Cajun Clothing Co. stores in Jackson Brewery and the Riverwalk Marketplace.

Perlis said business at the Uptown store matched the 2003 stock market surge last April and sales soared through the summer.

We haven't seen increases like this in a long time, Perlis said. It's a function of the economy and also of buyers attempting to become a little more fashionable in outlook and our efforts to broaden our market outside of Uptown New Orleans.

National retail sales were up 4.2 percent in 2003, said Ellen Tolley of the National Retail Federation.

2003 was a tough year for most retailers simply because the beginning of the year brought war with Iraq and a struggling economy, Tolley said. The second half of the year was much better but the first half brought the increase down quite a bit.

Internet sales, which account for about 2 percent of Perlis' business, jumped 180 percent from 2002. The company launched its Internet site four years ago and revamped the site in December 2002.

Other growing departments include shoes and women's clothing, which has doubled in the past four years. The trend for young girls to wear boys' shirts has sparked growth in the boys' department, Perlis said.

Loyal customers and referrals have helped the business thrive over the years, Perlis said.

Nobody happens into the store on Magazine, he said. They're told to come here or they've been here before. That's become a significant part of our business.

Holiday business is always significant because the store sells a lot of merchandise to locals who have moved away and come back for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Carnival, Perlis said.

People in town visiting family come in to show their children where they bought clothes when they were young. I don't know that that could happen in any other city than New Orleans, where tradition is so important, he said. Also, you don't have every large major department store in the world trying to come to New Orleans. They don't understand the demographics of the city.

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