we settled in, we did just fine,"
Mr. Astrein said.
The opening next summer of
Nordstrom and Hudson's just
across the street from Somerset
probably won't hurt, either, he
added. Mr. Astrein figures that
since Birmingham is on the way
to the Big Beaver Road empori-
um for many shoppers, they
might actually benefit from the
traffic.
And while the merchants
agree it hasn't been easy at-
tracting shoppers from West
Bloomfield — some of the same
people who shop at the Somerset
Collection — one of the mer-
chants said it doesn't matter.
"Our appeal is basically to
maybe five or six zip codes very
close to us, so West Bloomfield —
why should they come here?' Mr.
Schurgin said. "My statistical fig-
ures say we do 80 percent of our
cash business from five zip codes.
I feel very strongly we ought to
concentrate on our core market."
Mr. Astrein said his West
Bloomfield customers think
Birmingham is "remote." He's all
for reaching out to new zip codes
through advertising.

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BERKLEY
Todd Hegler
(810) 546-2590
SOUTHFIELD

"There's a lack of
sameness in
Birmingham."

— Larry Sherman

(810) 646-8787
WEST BLOOMFIELD
Greg Kane
(810) 855-6644

Kevin Swords

"You must do much more ad-
vertising now. It's not the case
anymore that you can just open
your door and traffic will flow in.
You need to cultivate a clientele,"
he said.
The Principal Shopping Dis-
trict advertising supplement is
one avenue merchants created to
get the word out about their
wares.
Mr. Astrein said there is a
"perceived" parking problem, al-
though the city has several mu-
nicipal parking lots within
walking distance of the down-
town core. Nonetheless, mer-
chants are talking to city hall
about free parking all over the
city.
But the problems are small, he
noted.
"There are still a lot of people
who don't like malls. This is a
very vibrant city. There's a di-
verse product. It's not Royal Oak,
but you can walk around at
night." Mr. Astrein was referring
to the bustle of Royal Oak's bars
and restaurants, many of which
cater to a younger set.
"People like to shop and to
walk around towns rather than
shopping centers," Mr. Sherman
added. "There's a lack of same-
ness in Birmingham that you
have in shopping centers."
That eclecticism and the
neighborliness of the area drew

MECCA page 42

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