business & professional

Sample Sale

Love to hit elusive pop-up sample sales to
nab steals on favorite designers? A local
entrepreneur lets shoppers skip the wait.

Lynne Konstantin

I Contributing Writer

F

ern Wallach had an idea. But
because the West Bloomfield wife,
mom, grandmother and interior
designer has been a bit busy the last 20
years, the idea had to percolate.
This past November,
Wallach finally unleashed
the idea. And it's brilliant.
Sample Wearhouse, in
West Bloomfield, offers
the same designer cloth-
ing and accessories that
shoppers find in high-end
department stores — at a
fraction of the price. The
clothing is not used, not
resale and not any differ-
ent than what you could
pay more for, except that
it's less.
How?
Because years
ago, Wallach had
some friends who
were clothing sales
reps. "They did
pop-up
sample-
Some of the items
clothing
sales in
that have been
hotels,
and
my
carried at Sample
mom
would
help
Wearhouse in West
out
sometimes,"
Bloomfield
says Darcee
Matlen, one of
Wallach's five daughters. "I was always the
best-dressed kid around, but my clothes
were samples. They were the same brands,
they just were marked 'sample' — but they
don't even do that anymore. It's exactly the
same:'
Sample clothing is just that — samples.
They are the pieces that manufacturer
representatives bring to store buyers from
which they order stock. Wallach then buys
the unused samples directly from the
manufacturers' showrooms at a deeply dis-
counted price and so is able to turn them
around at an also-deeply discounted price.
"She wanted to do something now that
could involve the whole family, and since
she's had this idea brewing for so long, it
seemed like the perfect fit:' says Matlen,
who helps out with purchasing, sales,
steaming and anything else that needs to be
done, along with Wallach's in-state daugh-
ters Randi Rafie and Stacey Erhlichman,
Wallach's 19-year-old granddaughter, Taylor
Koblin — even her 93-year-old mother-in-
law.

"She's got a back-
ground in design
and loves fashion.
I've got a back-
ground in retail:'
Matlen says. "We all
pool our skills:'
Matlen, for exam-
ple, started calling
various manufac-
turers to develop
relationships, or
"friendships," as she
says, and they have
been happy to par-
ticipate.
Fern Wallach,
Sample
owner of Sample
Wearhouse offers
Wearhouse, models
high-end girls,
juniors, bat-mitzvah some of the shop's
offerings.
dresses, women's
daywear and cock-
tail dresses as well as accessories, with
almost everything below wholesale prices.
Sizes start at toddler 4 (thanks to one of
Wallach's daughters who has a 2-year-old
daughter; "the rest of us have boys, so we
would like to head in that direction, too:'
says Matlen).
And gone are the days of samples only
being available in size 4, says Matlen. "We
stock everything, including plus sizes:'
Since the shop's launch, the family
has been bombarded with business and
accolades. "We had a shopper come in
who found an item, and she just let out a
scream," Matlen says. "She had the exact
same piece she had bought at a department
store for $75, still with the price tags on
it, and we were selling it for $25. She just
couldn't get over it:'
Offerings are often a one-of-a-kind
opportunity (the nature of samples means
they can't stock multiples of the same item),
but they can guarantee that each find is a
steal, and often post favorite pieces on their
Facebook page.
"And my mom loves that the whole fam-
ily is involved," says Matlen. "This is exactly
what she wanted: Her kids are getting older,
her grandchildren are getting older — so
she wants everyone to be able to be a part
of this project, which is her passion. She's
super-mom:'

❑

Sample Wearhouse, 33060 Northwestern
Highway, Suite 200 (above L'Aryola Spa & Salon),
West Bloomfield (samplewearhouse.com ; 248-737-

0081). The store is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays, and by appointment on
Mondays.

Joe Russo, center, with the Rocky Peanut Co. staff

Ah, Nuts!

Joe Russo's business gets kosher
stamp of approval.

41M, AM, IMMIRIM

Barbara Lewis

I Contributing Writer

H

e's the owner of Rocky
Peanut Co. in Ferndale, a
wholesale roaster and dis-
tributor of nuts, dried fruits, spices
and snack mixes.
And he wants you to know that they
are not the bulk-food store with a sim-
ilar name in Detroit's Eastern Market,
though that's where his company has
its roots.
Joe's father, Rocco, started Rocky
Peanut Company in 1965 in the
Eastern Market area. Joe moved the
business to a 56,000-square-foot facil-
ity in Ferndale in 2004. The company
does no retail sales.
A huge stainless steel roaster fills
one corner of a vast room. The com-
pany has used this roaster since 1974.
It's cleaned thoroughly every three
months, and parts are refurbished
and replaced as necessary.
Most consumers don't realize
they're eating Rocky Peanut products.
Most of the company's business is
creating private-label items for small-
to mid-sized retailers all over the
country. They also do corporate gifts.
Local customers include Westborn,
Busch's and Plum markets — and
those are the names you'll see on
the labels. Only in tiny print at the
bottom of the label will you see any
indication that the nuts or snack mix
comes from Rocky Peanut.
"Our customers are the specialty
retailers who want top quality," said
Russo, who was born and still lives in
St. Clair Shores. "Most of our orders
are in the $500 to $1,500 range. Some
are for just a few cases at a time:'
The company values its ties to the
Jewish community.
Rocky Peanut recently started pro-
ducing certified-kosher products. In
February, Russo, who is not Jewish,
contacted the Vaad HaRabonim,
Council of Orthodox Rabbis of
Metropolitan Detroit. The rabbis
inspected the plant, making sure that

RAIIII tl i AlLMIX

Nutritioin
G
Serving
Size
(1 oz.j
Servings Per Container 16

mi mown

Best Sy
09/11/14

rara....,

pa11

Calnries -1 50

Calories from fat: 80

i

% Daily Value
Total Fat 9q
14%
Saturated Fat 2 5
13%
Trans Fat Oa
0%
Cholesterol °MCI
3%
Sodium 70mg
5%
Total Carbohydrates 14q
7%
Dietary Fiber 20

Sugars12g

Protein 4g

Vitamin A

.%

Vitamin C •vc.

Irnn

all incoming products were certified
kosher by an acceptable organization
and checking Rocky's equipment and
procedures.
By the end of the summer, Rocky
was able to include the "K-Cor"
kosher symbol on 73 of its products.
The kosher line is growing. Russo
hopes to have 300 products certified
soon. He won't have to change any-
thing he's doing now, he said, it's just
a matter of completing the paperwork
and rabbinical inspection.
Being kosher provides "added value,"
he said. "It's good for Michigan:'
The few remaining products that are
not certified kosher are produced on
separate equipment in a separate area.
Dairy, parve and not-certified-kosher
products are made on separate days.
"We know we can't do any mixing or
substitution of anything between the
kosher and non-kosher products:' said
Russo. "The rabbis trained us well!"
Rocky Peanut also works closely
with JVS, a Jewish-sponsored agency,
to help people with physical or devel-
opmental disabilities. About half
of the company's 50 employees are
part of JVS's Supportive Employment
Program. The JVS employees pack,
label and prepare orders for shipping,
with the help of job coaches.
Russo is also proud that his compa-
ny is going green. The plastic product
containers are made from recycled
pop bottles. They recycle most of the
incoming packaging materials, using
the money they earn from recycling
for employee parties and gifts.

❑

January 2 • 2014

41