In Communications it's Service, Service, Service! town Jerusalem, the market just can't support more than one large retailer. "It's all about economics," says the soft-spoken Mr. Rucham, who bought his shop 15 years ago. "I'm in this business be- cause I love books, but in the end it's all about money. If I buy 100 Grishams from the pub- lisher and sell only 20, I end up eating them." Still, Rucham believes that the Israeli consumer is thirsty for other bookstores and super- stores with deeper selections, though in his assessment such ventures won't be successful; the cost to both the customers and retailers would simply be too high. Rentals are high, and a su- perstore can't be established on less costly real estate, like Jerusalem suburb Gilo or even the more accessible Talpiot, if it is meant to attract customers. In addition, there are the im- port costs on foreign titles, which can raise the cost of a book by an additional 30 percent. After the 17 percent Value Added Tax, U.S. sales tax, shipping ex- penses, port taxes, insurance costs and inland transport fees, a $7 book can cost much more by the time it ends up on Mr. Steimatzky's shelves. "A couple of places have tried to open their own versions of Steimatzky's but ultimately failed," says Mr. Rucham. Sure, says Mr. Rucham, Barnes and Noble can come to Israel, but only in place of Steimatzky, rather than along- side it; otherwise, the market just isn't big enough for both of them. Indeed, despite the fact that Israelis buy more books per capita than do Americans or Eu- ropeans, mammoth foreign su- perstores are not considering opening up shop here. Both Borders Books of the U.S. and Records and W.H. Smith, the British books retail- er, say expanding to the Middle East is too expensive and com- plicated and the size of the po- tential market does not offset these costs. "We know that if we could put a Borders on a helicopter and drop it into Israel, it would do very well; however, there are enormous obstacles," says Bob DiRomualdo, CEO of the Michi- gan-based Borders Group, which includes Borders Books and Music Stores and the small- er Walden Books chain. "It's a trade-off between the ego and the wallet. The ego would love to open stores in places like Bangkok and Lon- don, but the wallet prefers Flint, Michigan, and Eau Claire, Wis- consin." ❑ (c) Jerusalem Post 1996 Call today for a FREE cost analysis of your current cellular bill. Let us try to save you $$ on your cellular service Fax us your current cellular bill and receive a free $5 prepaid phone card. • New pagers from $49.00 • Airtime as low as $6.95/mo. • Local, Statewide and Nationwide coverage • Alpha-numeric Pagers • Toll-Free Voice Mail • StarTAC Phones in stock • Upgrades & Trade-ins welcome! • Long Distance Service • Discount rate plans available • Prepaid & No Contract terms available • MIDWEST AUTOTEL &-eiitech Cellular Phones-Pagers-Long Distance At Republic Bank, We Are Completely Dedicated to you. We are Michigan's largest personal banking network, 121 ___LNATURE MOTOROLA AUTHORIZED CELLULAR LOCATION MOTOROLA LLI / (810) 541-5025 STOP / Internet one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders and the number one SBA certified lender in Michigan. Everything you wanted to know about the Internet but were afraid to ask REPUBLIC BANK ONE STOP Internet is the place to start Visit any branch or call today. 1 800 758-0753 - MEMBER F.D.I.C. - Republic Information Center Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-7p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.-Noon 6utaffrici#19- T1ie4onviicao, /Wain • Bloom co Bloom • • Registered Electrologists • We • Find the right provider for you • Setup the software you need • Show you how to use the 'net effectively • Do your business or personal web pages Just call us at (810) 541 - 5025 and we will help you with the rest. All for surprisingly reasonable rates. ■ ■ ■ Visit Our Web Site at ■ ■ ■ http://www.rust.neti —mvsionestop.htm or e-mail us at mvs@rust.net Come and let us remove your unwanted hair problem and improve your appearance. Near 12 Mile Rd bet. Evergreen & Southfield L S - 3160 Haggerty Rd. Ste j West Bloomfield, MI 48323 810-960-3737 810-960-3739 (fax) 559-1969 Appt. Only. Ask For Shirlee or Debby 1 mazoa I 445-6080 ARNOLD Automotive Group Ltd. Gratiot Ave. at 12 Mile Road, Roseville, Michigan ' hut 25 minutes from the Binningham/Bloonified area off of 1.696" ■ MERCURY LINCOLN 445-6000