FASHION

FASHION Pandemic Pivot

Gus Mayer, Founded in 1900, No Stranger to Tumultuous Times

By Sam Prickett

starting to travel. Our buyers The Gus Mayer brand is no stranger to tumult. Founded in New are traveling extensively to market, and we’re trying to merchandise our store to the customer’s needs. “Being a smaller store as Orleans in 1900, the depart- we are, we can really pivot ment store at one point operat- very quickly, and in the past ed 20 stores throughout the month or so people’s attitudes Southeast and Midwest. Its and everything have changed. Birmingham store opened near- People are starting to get back ly a century ago, in 1922, mov- for social occasions. People ing several times — from 5th are wanting to get cosmetics Avenue North to Highland and makeup. They’re going Avenue to Brookwood Village. But a retail downturn in the 1970s led to the once-national company selling off its stores individually. Its current owners, the Pizitz family, bought the Birmingham location in 1975 Journal photo by Lee Walls out, they want to look good, and we’ve beefed up all those areas.” Casual Dresses, Bright Colors Pushing the Trends and later purchased the Jeff Pizitz, president of the Pizitz Management Group. The Pizitz Mallett said the store has Nashville store in 1990. family has been in the retail business in Birmingham for more seen a “real resurgence” in

The two Pizitz-owned stores than 100 years. sales of casual dresses. are the only Gus Mayer loca- “People have been wearing tions still open. The Birmingham store moved to a 16,000-square- their yoga clothes and that kind of thing for the past 12 to 18 foot location at the Summit in 2011, which marked a further evo- months, and they seem to want to put on dresses,” he said. “I lution for the Gus Mayer brand. would say the look of the season is the casual dress and the fash-

“The store at the Summit is comprised of a large women’s ion sneaker, so kind of a sneaker-dress look.” area, shoes, jewelry, cosmetic and furs,” said Jeff Pizitz, president There’s also been a greater interest in “mood-lifting colors,” of the Pizitz Management Group. “We’ve had to change our mix. such as pink or coral, “that make you feel really good and better We’ve done so very efficiently to keep up with the times. We’ve about yourself,” he said. “And feminine details like embroidery, lowered our price point a little bit. We still consider ourselves a floral prints, lace trims, that kind of thing is doing very good.” very contemporary high-end specialty store, but we sell a lot In terms of “utility” apparel, he said, “leggings and tights are more trendy clothes, a lot more shoes — much more fashionable giving way to shorts” — both workout and dressier city shorts. than we used to be.” But store managers are still waiting to see what happens with

One of the store’s biggest challenges came last year with the Gus Mayer’s accessory business. COVID-19 pandemic. “We haven’t seen the ‘it’ accessory really evolve for this year

“Obviously, COVID in 2020 was a major event for all retail- yet,” Mallett said. “It’s not like there’s a great belt or great scarf ers,” Pizitz said. “It was even more so for a retailer like Gus Mayer because we cater to social events. We cater to weddings, parties, things like that. And almost everything we catered to was ‘People are starting to get back for not happening anymore. People weren’t going out. People’s social life changed dramatically. Everything was curtailed.” social occasions. People are wanting to get cosmetics and makeup. They’re Pivot Point The store shut down for 2½ months in 2020, during which going out, they want to look good, and time management and executive staff developed a reopening plan, we’ve beefed up all those areas.’ pivoting the business to adapt to the new abnormal.

“We canceled a lot of orders in our special occasion departJEFF PIZITZ ments,” Pizitz said. “We beefed up orders in contemporary (apparel). We added an athleisure department. We built that up very quickly because that’s what people were wearing — com- or handbag that’s driving the business. Our designer handbag fortable, casual clothes.” business, whether it’s Louis Vuitton or Chanel, those businesses

When the store reopened, they found that customers had continue to be very, very good. “some pent-up demand,” but business still wasn’t terrific. Store “But outside of that, the accessory business has been chalhours had to be shortened and a few staff members were fur- lenged so far this year, mostly because people don’t need masks loughed. anymore and we’re up against big mask numbers from last year.”

The only area of growth last year, said Gus Mayer President Still, things appear to be on the upswing for the retailer. Chuck Mallett, was in the store’s accessory department. “We’ve increased our staff and increased our hours, and although

“I wouldn’t say we had a phenomenal 2020 in just about any- challenges remain, we are still very, very optimistic about fall thing, but we had a phenomenal 2020 in our accessory business, 2021,” Pizitz said. because of the masks,” he said. “We had designer masks that “I think the strongest component of the business for us is just were $50 apiece that we sold thousands of pieces of, and that that we continued though all of the challenges that COVID predrove a lot of the accessory business last year.” sented,” Mallett said. “We have incredible salespeople who have

Now, more than a year into the pandemic, business is finally incredible relationships with the customers, and that has paid starting to increase. huge dividends for us as we’ve gone through the challenges of

“As time has gone on, especially in the last month or so as COVID. … Customers are coming into the store not only because vaccines have become more prevalent, we’ve seen a real, real the trends are so great, but to support those associates they’ve surge in business,” Pizitz said. “People are starting to go out, built relationships with over the years.”

Spring’s Arrivals

There’s also been a greater interest in “mood-lifting colors,” such as pink or coral, “that make you feel really good and better about yourself,” he said. “And feminine details like embroidery, floral prints, lace trims, that kind of thing is doing very good.”

GUS MAYER PRESIDENT CHUCK MALLETT

Essentiel Antwerp, Zisse pleated minidress, $260.

FASHIONS COURTESY GUS MAYER

JOURNAL PHOTOS BY LEE WALLS

Farm rio, cross stitch embroidered blouse multi, $195. Lafayette 148 New York, washed plaster wide leg crop jeans, $368.

Lafayette 148 New York, Fresh Blue multi blouse, $598. Black Halo, Twinkle Blue blazer, $435. Black Halo, Twinkle Blue pants, $275. Essentiel Antwerp, Oyster oversized blazer, $515. Safiyaa, Amethyst pant, $630.

Samantha Sung, Anastasia 3/4 sleeve dress, $995.

An Integrative Approach to Mental Health

Abbie Milich, M.A LMSW above, recently joined Freedom Professional Counseling after serving as a Clinical Social Worker at Emory University Hospital, where she thoughtfully coordinated resources to patients and families upon discharge from the hospital. After earning her Undergraduate degree in Psychology and Spanish from Auburn University, Abbie went on to receive her Masters in Social Work from the University of Georgia.

As a Clinical Social Worker, Abbie is highly skilled in working with people from all backgrounds and walks of life. Abbie utilizes a strengths-based, integrative approach to well-being. Abbie meets each client where they are in their current life process, and works alongside them to address their personal needs.

“I understand that every client has different wants, needs, and unique life experiences they come into therapy with,” Abbie said.

Abbie enjoys working with adolescents and adults seeking help with anxiety/depression, stress tolerance, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships

With a focus on resilience and strength, her goal as a therapist is to provide client’s with a safe space, where they can speak freely without fear of being judged.

“I employ an integrative approach to mental health and I enjoy working alongside clients during tough life transitions, whether that is a breakup, national pandemic, or going to college,” Abbie said. “I aim to help clients become the best version of themselves. I believe that all people have the capacity to be successful, sometimes we just need help. Let me, help you!”