BUSINESS
Forget Me Not
Nancye Radim is reaching out
to the larger woman.
CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
Staff Writer
o Nancye Radim, owner
of the Forgotten Wo-
man in Birmingham, zaftig is
beautiful.
"I can go from a size 12 to a
size 16 with a good meal,"
Mrs. Radim says, adding an-
other motto in her southern
lilt, "Have seamstress will
travel."
Mrs. Radim knows the pit-
falls of finding fashionable
clothes for an oversized fig-
ure. After gaining 80 pounds
during her second pregnan-
cy, she was tired of wearing
polyester pull-oils and floral
tent dresses.
After discovering she
couldn't find large-sized
fashionable clothes, Mrs.
Radim opened her first store
in 1977 with a $10,000 in-
vestment from her husband.
She was boisterous and put
her take-charge manner in
place. She even traveled to a
factory in the mountains of
Brazil, where she was the
model for the clothing in her
initial inventory.
Today, Mrs. Radim, 52, is
at the helm of a 26-store
chain in 14 states. Annual
sales have reached $40 mill-
ion. She has carved a niche
in the fashion world for large
women. And if all goes well,
she plans to expand the
chain to 80 stores within the
decade.
In Detroit, large women
have several stylish choices.
Some of the local boutiques
with large sizes include
Elaine B's, Sys Unlimited
and Valentina.
According to marketing
consultant Fred Marx, large
size clothing is no longer a
fringe business.
"The market is elastic,"
Mr. Marx says, not tongue-
in-cheek.
The large-size retail
market is a $12 billion in-
dustry, says Carole Shaw,
editor and founder of BBW:
Big is beautiful for Nancye Radim's growing chain of stores.
Big Beautiful Woman, a
glossy fashion magazine for
larger women.
Ms. Shaw believes the
market is in its infancy and
that retailers are just begin-
ning to scratch the surface.
She cites growth areas in
large size maternity, wed-
ding and junior fashions.
Nancye Radim listens to
her customers and is con-
stantly adding to her inven-
tory. She carries boots,
shoes, scarves, jewelry,
belts, lingerie and designer
clothing.
She carries fashion for-
ward designers such as Bob
Mackie, Hino and Malee,
Laura Biagiotti and Tomat-
SU.
In October, she opened a
Beau James Salon in the
Forgotten Woman at
Rockefeller Center in New
York. It carries a couture
line of evening wear in large
sizes.
The idea for the salon was
developed by Mrs. Radim
and Mr. James, the former
personal shopping director
for Bonwit Teller. The
boutique collection retails
from $1,500 to $10,000 with
styles from Bob Mackie,
Oscar de la Renta, Nolan
Miller and other well-known
designers.
When the Georgia-born
Mrs. Radim is not jet setting
across the country to open
new stores or check on in-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
49