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PROFESSIONAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
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LEE Endowment Fund

Doer Profile from page 30

chain, was the design model for the
first 193 stores. It has two long counters,
which separate most of the products —
and employees — from the customers.
The new concept, which Simtob calls the
prototype for the next 200 stores, will
have a more open look."The employees
will interact more with the customers,
there will be more technical elements
and the customers will be able to touch
and play" with the phones.
Franchises, which cost $200,000-
$300,000, are not purchased from
Wireless Toyz, they are "awarded to
qualified candidates:' said Simtob. The
company has a careful process in which
a match is made. It includes applica-
tions, interviews, pre-qualification for
loans, selection of locations, the build-
ing process and a three-month train-
ing program, including three weeks at
headquarters.
Company-wide sales in 2005 were
$81 million. Simtob managed the addi-
tion of 66 stores in 2006.
Kuperstein believes the word "wire-
less" in the company name keeps the
firm from being pigeonholed. "We pilot
lots of things',' he said. "We try things
out in one market before we go national
with it!'
Simtob also sees a bright future for
the firm. In five years, he believes, more
and more people will be getting their

Knosh and Knowledge

Join the growing list of attorneys, accountants,
financial advisors and insurance professionals
in our informal, networking group.

Meet other profes-
sionals in your field
over coffee and
bagels, three to four
times a year, to hear
from local and
national experts on
subjects of interest
to you.

Topics range from
charitable and
estate planning to
economic and
political forecasting.

Auto Motive from page 28

class. That middle class was brought up
in the belief that automotive industry
jobs, and benefits, would last for life.
"But that business model is broken:'
Glassman said, "and we'll never see those
days again:'
He also believes that new cars are
better made today and that consumers
may get out of the habit of a new car
every two-to-three years. The Big Three,
he said, are "taking a hit [now from con-
sumers] for past sins relative to quality"
The big goal for any automobile
manufacturer is to get young people to
buy a brand that they will continue to
want to buy. Even Toyota and Honda, he
said, are worried about young buyers not
wanting to purchase the same models

Join us Tuesday, October 30th, at 7:30a.m.
as we discuss Identity Theft: White Collar
Crime in a Blue Collar World.

Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) is a great
opportunity to network in the Jewish community
and exchange ideas and business practices.

For more information, call Susie Feldman at
(248) 203-1461 or email sfeldman@jfmd.org .

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their parents buy.
In that regard, Glassman says his
dealership has been fortunate. "Subaru
is where Saab was 25 years ago. Ifs a
nice car, with all-wheel drive and some
features that are less-expensive or non-
existent on other models."
Hyundai and Kia, he said, are for peo-
ple "who don't have to prove anything to
anybody. They are lots of car for not very
much money"
He said the number of luxury models
his dealership has been taking in trade
in recent months is mind-boggling.
"People are getting behind on $700 and
$800 payments. The housing market has
slowed, the stock market slows and they
say, `What am I doing?'"

ls tC a ll

Jewish
Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit

jewishdetroit.org

34

weather information, news, Internet
service and music from their phones.
Doesn't that sound like the new Apple
iPhone?
"Yes',' he said, "but in five years those
features will become common ... And
the iPhone has changed how much
people will spend for a phone and has
increased awareness:'
The two co-presidents of Wireless
Toyz expect to be along for the ride. Said
Kuperstein, "We really enjoy working
with one another. Ifs an excellent meld-
ing of skills and talents that are vastly
different. It makes a whole."
Founder Joe Barbat announced three
moves last month: his role as chairman
and the promotions of Kuperstein and
Simtob as co-presidents. He called the
two "talented and passionate."
Simtob is a vice president of Yad
Ezra, the Berkley-based kosher food
bank. Hei is involved with the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and
the Jewish Entrepreneurs Network.
He and his family are members of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Oakland
County.
Kuperstein in Toronto was on
the board of the Aphasia Insititue,
on the executive committee of the
Toastmasters International chapter in
Oakville and on the advisory coun-
cil of the Volunteer Centre of Peel in

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