054

Thanks Billions!

(Actually More, But We
Lost Count Decades Ago)

Michigan's Largest Independently
Owned Mortgage Banker, Period.

Edith Berman Brings
Elegance To Detroit

KIMBERLY LIFTON S AFF WR ER

• Stability — Serving homeowners for nearly 50 years.
• *Service A commitment to 7-10 day approval time.
• Low rates — Always.

—

PTA!

MEMBER ,

DAR

FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.

Serving Homeowners Since 1946

24445 Northwestern Highway, Suite 100, Southfield

313-827-2436

Edith Klein Berman and Sy Berman at Continental Exclusives.

C

Quiet Revolution

YOU'RE CHANGING THE WAY WE DO BANKING

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YOUR PERSONAL BANKER CAN MAKE

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ontinental Exclusives
owner Edith Klein
Berman smiles when
she talks about her
meeting with Stanley
Marcus, son of the founder of
Neiman Marcus.
She had just moved to the
United States, and her
English was a bit shaky. She
knew nothing about busi-
ness, but she certainly knew
something about antiques.
Her grandmother had col-
lected them in Romania, and
Ms. Berman paid close atten-
tion to the fine details of the
precious old items.
"I had little cash, and I
had no employable skills.
Antiques were the only thing
I knew," she says.
It was the early 1960s, and
Ms. Berman had just immi-
grated to the United States.
She married Ernie Klein, the
attorney who had helped her
apply for citizenship. Now
she was venturing into an
unknown business world.
There was a new mall,
Somerset, opening in Troy,
and people suggested it
would be a great place for a
small antique shop. But, she
heard, only well-known
stores could enter this mall.
She leased a store that
was 2,400-square-feet, much
larger than she envisioned.

Ms. Berman pulled out a
business card of a man she
met from Texas. She phoned
Stanley Marcus, and she
asked him if he wanted to
sublease a portion of her
shop.
"I had no idea who he was.
But he didn't laugh," Ms.
Berman said. "He just
offered to help me."
Then she called him back,
and she upgraded her origi-
nal offer from 300 square feet
to 500 square feet. This time
Stanley Marcus explained
that he was looking at the
mall for future expansion for
his family business.
That was the start of a
friendly business relation-
ship. For several years, Ms.
Berman occasionally called
upon Mr. Marcus for advice.
The Stanley Marcus story
is typical in the life of Ms.
Berman, who says that her
success grew out of a love for
antiques — and a lot of luck.
"I'm just naive with good
ideas," she says.
of
The
founder
Continental Exclusives, who
now operates three upscale
gift boutiques in Southfield,
Detroit and West Bloomfield,
started her business with a
store in Troy, then moved to
Birmingham, and later to
Southfield and West