Arlene Selik, a 44-year-old
Huntington Woods resident,
says she "had another life" as
a medical technologist before
opening Sybaris Gallery with
partner Linda Ross in 1989.
The pair sell decorative fine
arts to museums, corpora-
tions and individuals.
Like the owners of Truly
Gifted, Ms. Selik and Ms.
Ross thought their gallery

The new Royal Oak at night.

fashioned little town."
would fill an unmet need.
Beverly Dovitz, of Truly
Unlike the owners of Truly
Gifted agrees.
Gifted, the women did not
"This is a wonderful com-
choose Royal Oak because
munity," she says. The
their clientele was Royal
Huntington Woods resident
Oak-based. Instead, they
and her partner, Annie
wanted to address what they
Cohen, previously ran their
considered a missed opportu-
gift shop from home. Two
years ago, they decided
to expand the operation.
Truly Gifted needed
more space, and Royal
Oak needed a gift shop.
"People in Huntington
Woods were either going
to Birmingham or West
Bloomfield" to buy the
picture frames, mono-
grammed stationery and
other gifts her store car-
ries, Ms. Dovitz says.
"We never looked in
Birmingham, and West
Bloomfield was out of the
question," she says. Both
were too expensive and
too competitive for a new
store.
Ms. Dovitz and Ms.
Cohen are not unusual.
"In general, women are Lynn Portnoy is a woman helping women.
starting more businesses
than men," says Kathleen
nity in the metro area.
Mechem of the Michigan
"Habatat has glass, and
Department of Commerce.
Pewabic has pottery," Ms.
She points out that in 1982,
Selik says. "But there wasn't
96,000 women-owned busi-
anyone doing this (offering
nesses existed in Michigan,
decorative fine arts) across
compared to an estimated
the board."
160,000 today.
Royal Oak's affordability
Ms. Mechem attributes the
and central location attracted
growth to women's increased
Sybaris' owners, who had
education and better access
been working as art consul-
to finances.
tants for two years. When
"Women are more willing
forced to move their growing
and able to take financial
business from their homes,
risks," she says. "They tend
they immediately considered
to quit jobs when working
up-and-coming Royal Oak.
conditions are less than
Sybaris Gallery opened in
ideal, so they have more
a storefront on Fourth Street
impetus to start their own
in the heart of downtown.
businesses."
For four years the location

was ideal. Then the landlord
unexpectedly doubled the
rent. Since their business
does not depend on down-
town traffic, Ms. Selik and
her partner reopen tomorrow
in a more affordable, less
centrally located site several
blocks away.
"New spaces are going for
much higher rents," Ms.
Selik says, adding she thinks
Royal Oak's affordable
reputation may be short-
lived. Her own experi-
ence leads her to believe
that rents depend pri-
marily on location and
how long tenants have
had their current leases.
As leases expire, rents
rise.
Many business owners
find this trend distress-
ing. Ms. Roberts, a jewel-
ry designer and owner of
Deborah Roberts Design
Room, would like to
move her studio and
gallery from its location
on 11 Mile Road to a
larger space near the
center of downtown.
Today, she can't afford
the move.
Fortunately,
Ms.
Roberts says, "most business
is word-of-mouth." She finds
that many customers check
out her gallery on walks
through Royal Oak because
they've heard there's an
interesting new spot.
In addition to her own jew-

ISRAEL DIGEST'

Specially compiled by The Jerusalem Post

— $1 EQUALS 2.8750 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 8/20/93 —

McDonald's Imports Fries

The Israel cabinet said last

week that McDonald's is
allowed to import processed
french fries on a temporary
basis.
The cabinet said the fries
could be imported until
operations begin at a facto-
ry being built with
McDonald's' support by a
group of investors in Kiryat
Malachi.
The factory should be

operational within six
months, according to Omri
Padan, the chairman of
McDonald's Israel. The gov-

ernment also said the com-
pany operating the factory,
PAP Industries, must be
the importer of the fries.
The first restaurant in
the chain is scheduled to be
open in Ramat Gan's
Canyon Ayalon in either
October or November.

Pen Withdraws Bank Bid

British
businessman
Benjamin Perl, until now a
contender to buy United
Mizrahi Bank, told the
Jerusalem Post that he is
withdrawing his candidacy.
Mr. Peri said he had fol-
lowed the intense press cov-
erage surrounding the sale
of the bank and decided
that Mizrahi's profile is too
high for his liking.
He added that while he

rates Mizrahi's manage-
ment highly, it would be
impractical to own the bank
from a distance. Mr. PeH,
who is chairman and mAjor-
ity shareholder of the Tel
Aviv Stock Exchange listed
real estate company
Ya'asour, added that he
fully intends to step up his
investments in Israel - just
not in banking.

Koor Profits Drop

Koor Industries reported a
fall in net profit during the
second quarter to $27.65
million from $65.70 million
during the same period last
year.
Koor said the sector
began to feel a recovery
only in June.
During the six-month
period, Koor reported the
opening of Home Center in
Rishon Lezion in which it is
a partner, final prepara-
tions for the opening of two

Cash & Carry food ware-
house stores and completion
of contracts for opening
three distribution points for
building industry products.
Koor also reported open-
ing a branch of Clal Trading
in Vietnam, intensively
studying options for
expanding business in the
Middle East after a peace
agreement and making the
decision to enter the hotel
and tourism sector.

Hapoalim Profits Rise 46 Percent

Photo by Dan iel Lipp itt

turned out to be good for rea-
sons other than location. The
city's personal touch showed
itself immediately when
Chamber of Commerce repre-
sentatives came to Detroit to
welcome her to Royal Oak
even before she'd moved into
her new store.
"Royal Oak is a close, ter-
rific community," Ms.
Portnoy says. "It's an old-

elry, Ms. Roberts showcases
the work of numerous other
artists. Her tiny showroom is
comfortably cluttered with
bells and hats, miniature tea
sets, candlesticks, children's
clothing, perfume bottles,
woolen socks, mirrors, kalei-
doscopes, clocks and picture
frames.
"Living with art is wonder-
ful," Ms. Roberts says.
The 36-year-old New York
native has been selling her
own jewelry for many years.
Her signature designs incor-
porate a variety of metals
and colored stones, which she
sells wholesale to museum
REINS page 156

Bank Hapoalim announced
improved net profit for the
second quarter but suffered
a drop in earnings for the
first six months of the year,
primarily as a result of the
government's banking
reforms.
Net profit for the second
quarter rose 46.1 percent to
$32.9 million from $22.5
million during the same
period last year. Net profit
for the first six months of
the year, after a one-time

provision or taxes, fell 17.5
percent to $35.4 million
from $42.85 million for the
corresponding period last
year.
Net return on equity for
the first half of the year fell
to 5.1 percent from 6.7 per-
cent. The company attrib-
uted the improvement in
second quarter earnings to
a rise in operating income
and income from sub-
sidiaries and affiliates.

Bank Leumi completed the
second quarter with a 22
percent rise in net profit to

increased to 6.3 percent
annually from 4.7 percent.
Leumi's board of directors
declared an interim cash
dividend of $19.82 million.
Management attributed
the improvement to a con-
tinued growth in the bank's
local activities, a rise in
subsidiaries' earnings and a
fall in provisions for doubt-
ful debts.

Leumi Reports Profit Increase

$27.96 million from $23.27
million in the same period
last year.
In the six-month period, net
profit rose 42.4 percent $45
million from $31.6 million
in the corresponding period
last year.
Net return on equity