LIFESTYLES

PROFILE

Alan Teitel: Trendsetter

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ

Local Columnist

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NAME: Alan Eugene Teitel
AGE: 57
OCCUPATION: Chairman of the board of
Thitel Brokerage, a manufacturers
representative, food broker and operator
of retail stores.
RESIDENCE: Bloomfield Hills
FAMILY: Divorced. Three children:
Andrew, a vice piesident of Teitel
Brokerage; Wendy Gorge, a homemaker;
and Rob, a vice president and
accountant at Teitel Brokerage. His two
sisters, Shirley Ingber and Adeline
Stern, reside in West Bloomfield. Three
grandchildren.
EDUCATION: Attended Michigan State
University.
SYNAGOGUE: Temple Israel
ORGANIZATIONS: Jewish Welfare
Federation, Anti-Defamation League of
B'nai B'rith, Variety Club of Detroit
and on the board of directors of
Papagena Opera Co. in Ann Arbor.
FAVORITE BOOK: His favorite author is
Federick Forsythe.
HOBBIES: Boating, tennis, travel and
playing the harmonica.
LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: "Seeing the
opening of the Mickey Thitel Memorial
Computer Center of the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah."

PHILOSOPHY: "I believe the key word in
life is awareness. There is no such thing
as good or bad luck. People control their
own destiny by awareness. There is no
such thing as a once in a lifetime

94

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1989

opportunity. If you are aware of
something, grab on to it."

BACKGROUND: Alan Teitel grew up in
Detroit with his parents, Max and
Beatrice. As a young child he lived on
Taylor Street and then moved to
Roselawn for his teenage years.
Teitel remembers helping his father
with the family wholesale drug supply
business as a young teen and developing
marketing instincts. "I learned a lot
from him:' When he wasn't working for
studying, he enjoyed playing the
harmonica.
In 1950, he was graduated from
Central High School and attended
Michigan State University before
enlisting in the Navy. He served almost
three years of his naval duty in the
Marine Corps.
After his naval career, he opened up
Joy Drugstore on Joy Rd. and Grand
River. He was instrumental in
developing the discount drugstore
concept.
In 1960, he became a manufacturers
representative selling to retail stores.
By 1962, he accumulated seven
drugstores but sold them because he
was concentrating on his business as a
manufacturers representative.
When his daughter became a special
education teacher and could not find
employment, he suggested she sell
trinkets in a pushcart at Tally Hall in
Farmington Hills. The business became
so successful that Teitel developed it
into chain stores called The Canary and
The Elephant. • In 1986, Teitel sold 14
Canary and Elephant stores, which
included 24 leases.
When his competitive clause expired,
he opened another set of chain stores
called Beauty and Beads. These stores
combined accessories and beauty
products.
Teitel's strength is in retailing and
merchandising. He has the ability to
identify a successful product, market it,
and know when to drop it. "I have
always been able to look at a product
and see a need," he says. He was the
first manufacturer of nail decals. He
also manufactured inexpensive tennis
bracelets.
For future trends, Teitel predicts
Caribbean food, squatty heels and pins.
He also notes that costume watches will
replace Rolex and Cartiers. As a
trendsetter, Teitel serves as a consultant
to other companies.
In the community, Thitel's name is
often associated with philanthropic
deeds. The library at Bar-Ilan
University is dedicated to his parents,
while a computer center at the Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah is in memory of his son.
When Thitel is involved ina project,
he likes immediate results. "When I
think of something at night, I have to
do it the next morning."