LOCAL RETAILER, CHILDREN'S BAZAAR, IS FEATURED IN NATIONAL MAGAZINE

Children's Business, a colorful, slick magazine geared to the children's wear retail industry, took its readers on an ultimate shopping spree in the March 1992 issue, stepping into 16 of the nation's top specialty shops.

From New York to Los Angeles and from Michigan to Louisiana, a Children's Business writer discussed operations from small and large-city shops, including Children's Bazaar in the Crossroads Retail and Professional Center, Kingshighway and Independence.

"We were thrilled to have been selected as one of the shops for the article," said Judy Wilferth, owner of Children's Bazaar.

"Children's Bazaar and its owner, Judy Wilferth, must be doing something right," Children's Business wrote of the 7,000-square-foot shop.

"We're noted for having a great selection and the best fashion at the fairest prices," said Wilferth.

Children's Bazaar carries children's apparel in sizes infant to girls preteens and boys to 20 years of age.

The merchandise is mostly domestic, with some important girls lines. Prices are OshKosh to Polo, said Wilferth. She considered her offerings to be "better quality, traditional clothing" with about 5 percent of the products "far out" in style.

Wilferth knows she must stay on top of the trends.

The typical Children's Bazaar customer is a "very Middle American" mother or grandmother, either working or non-working," said Wilferth, who started her business 19 years ago.

"The store is smack in the center of the city where the traffic is at its peak," said Wilferth. "We're midway between the older downtown area stores and a large newer shopping mall."

Wilferth and her husband, Fred "Rock" Wilferth, are owners of the Crossroads Center, which also includes a children's shoe store and The Boys Corner, which offers sizes 8-20 apparel. The three shops connect in the middle. Other retailers in the center include a deli, a beauty salon, a pizza parlor, a photo lab, and a women's clothing outlet. Also in the center is a stock investment firm.

Children's Bazaar has more than a dozen employees, some of whom have worked there 17 years. The staff is also in charge of shop displays and two small display windows that are changed regularly.

The businesswoman in Wilferth complains about damage being done by discounters.

"The specialty shops create a demand," she said. "Then the major discounters pick up on the demand, and it hurts. I'd hate for all the specialty stores to close and be left with four big manufacturers that sell to everybody. It won't go that far, but that's the direction we're heading. A lot of specialty stores have closed in recent years."