RETAIL

Continued from page 29

alists. At area Best Buy stores, or online
at www.bestbuy.com , I like the Sony
VAIO 540 All-in-One TV PC desktop
($1,999), great for tight spaces, like dorm
rooms, as it does double duty as a flat
panel television. And because the mouse
and keyboard are wireless, there's none
of that clutter that comes from multiple
cords going every which way.
As for laptops, the Toshiba Satellite
370 ($1,049.99) weighs only 5.3 pounds
and is under 2 inches in depth.
Keep in mind, though, that there's no
one computer right for every student.
Kevin Cockett, spokesman for Best Buy,
recommends students — and parents —
determine their needs prior to making a
decision.
And, regardless of technological
prowess, the Geek Squad, Best Buy's
computer support task force, is available
to everyone, no matter from where their
equipment was purchased. The service
(wwwgeeksquad.com , or 800-GEE lc
SOLJAD) offers a menu of options, for a
flat fee, including networking a student
away at school, say in California, to his or
her parents here in southeast Michigan. E1

Some of Pitaya's

hip offerings

can be found on

its Web site.

The Checkout

ne back-to-class shopping
excursion was, and remains,
generally more palatable than
most. Buying new clothes somehow ,
made the transition from loafing to
learning a little easier to swallow.
For those Ann Arbor-bound,
American Apparel debuted its first area
store downtown on East Liberty; a sec-

0

and shop opens at the end of September
on Washington Street in Royal Oak.
Look for its signature logo-free T-shirts,
without question the best fitting, most
comfortable around, as well as fleece
jackets, hoodies, pants and underwear
for women and men. The 7-year-old
company, founded by Canadian Dov
Chaney, proudly markets itself as being

"sweatshop free" with all of its garments
produced at its facility in downtown Los
Angeles.
Also in downtown Royal Oak, the
just-opened Pitaya
(www.pitayaonline.com ) specializes in
inexpensive, trendy, casual clothing for
juniors. Owner 'Michael Mazor opened
his first Pitaya (named for the fruit that
grows on the pitaya cacti of Central and
South America) in Bloomington, Ind.,
about a decade ago and today has eight
stores in funky, offbeat neighborhoods
across the country, including those in
Indianapolis, Dallas, Seattle, Boulder
and Louisville.
Mazor says Pitaya receives new mer-
chandise weekly, keeping the selling
floor fresh and styles on target. And
regardless of its low, prices, a discount
operation this isn't with messy displays
and piles of clothing. The store is cool
without being austere, friendly without
being hokey and, thankfully, employs
sales associates who do more than sim-
ply man the cash register.
An A-plus approach to retailing if
there ever was one.

Ed Nakfoor is a Birmingham-based freelance writer and retail consultant. Each month, he writes about retail news and
trends- for Platinum. E-mail suggestions or comments to Ed at ednakfoor@comcast.net .

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