Defying the Odds [Hardcover]

Marcia Israel-Curley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2002

Marcia Israel-Curley is the pioneering retail visionary behind Judy's, a fashion institution from the moment its first tiny store (7 x 12!) opened in an offbeat Los Angeles neighborhood in 1948, until it was sold in 1989, as a major public company employing more than 2000 people. It was called Judy's because the store was only wide enough for a sign with five letters, and it was the first boutique geared to clothing for young women, at a time when teenaged girls had to shop at large department stores and dress like their mothers.

Marcia Israel-Curley is a remarkable role model with a wealth of experience and business acumen; her straightforward style makes her lessons for success an engaging and informative read. A lifetime of hard work and success has earned Marcia Israel-Curley many honors: in 1964 she was named Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year; the Marshall School of Business at USC designated her Entrepreneur of the Year; she chaired President Reagan's Committee for dealing with small and minority business ownership (reporting directly to the president); and she has been decorated by the U.S. Navy and the president of France.

Judy's grew into a major retail conglomeration with Marcia Israel at the helm and its innovations were regularly tracked by Women's Wear Daily, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. This is the story of a business woman with vision and an uncompromising work ethic who let nothing-not even cancer-stand her in her way. A cross between cosmetic queen Mary Kay Ash's memoir, You Can Have It All, and Georgette Mosbacher's Feminine Force, Defying the Odds is a must-read for those looking for inspiration and insight into entrepreneurial success.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Israel-Curley, founder of Judy's, a successful women's retailer, opens her memoir with her doctor telling her the tumor in her lymph nodes is malignant. Facing an uncertain future, Israel-Curley realized she wanted to tell the story of her 40-plus years in business. This inauspicious first chapter quickly gives way to the wonderful tale of a self-made American woman. During the Depression, when Israel-Curley was a girl, her father abandoned the family, and her enterprising mother moved her daughters from their upstate New York farm to Manhattan. While her mother worked as a janitor, Israel-Curley excelled in school, especially in business subjects. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, lured by the help-wanted ads she saw in Women's Wear Daily, and found a job as a buyer for a small department store. When her boss went on vacation, Israel-Curley was left to figure out the intricacies of buying. She was a natural. "Our sales volume tripled in my first year," and her boss referred to her as his "little genius." When she married, she continued to work-a radical idea for 1947-and soon took one tiny storefront and opened the first Judy's (so named because the sign was only large enough for five letters). Israel-Curley captivatingly recounts how she built her business into a publicly held company with 104 stores, interspersing brief peeks at her personal life among detailed business anecdotes. In addition to offering practical advice for entrepreneurs and managers, this is an engaging first-person account of building a business from the ground up. Photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Whatever prominence women in business have achieved over, say, the past two to three decades is not necessarily attributable only to the female-consciousness raising of the 1960s. Nor solely to the corporations recognizing the talent drain in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead, it is the efforts of lone women entrepreneurs who, against all of society's dictates, succeeded in unusual ways and during unusual times. Such is the tale of Israel-Curley, founder of a 104-store fashion chain catering to the younger set, who started in 1948 on Los Angeles' Whittier Boulevard with an idea, a closet of a store, and a strong desire-need to bring in the family bread. Hampered by a dabbler husband who believed a woman's place is in the home, the author learned all the to-dos and nots by sheer hard work, perseverance, and a bit of luck in knowing the right people. We follow her through union organizers, selling the business (twice), and a husband's death. And we celebrate those triumphs and failures together in a tale that, though simply narrated, is studded with celebrity names and pictures and captures truth. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 262 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; 1 edition (September 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585673072
• ISBN-13: 978-1585673070
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #944,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars inspiring, June 25, 2004

By 

Rodney D. Bobbittmd (Temple, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Defying the Odds (Hardcover)

This lady has a wonderful sense of life.
I found the book interesting, informative and inspiring.
I have a small business and I am asking all of my 20 employees to read it.
Thank you Marcia.
(My only criticism is that it was too short!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Rags to Riches Story, May 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Defying the Odds (Hardcover)

Marcia Israel begins the book as a poor girl in New York working as a part time model and bookkeeper, and by the end she's not only a successful entrepreneur who has been named "Woman of the Year" by the Los Angeles Times, but a world traveler, a Presidential commission appointee, a USC professor, and somebody who entertains heads of state in her home.

It's an incredible story.

She also gives good advice along the way for aspiring business owners.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Experiences of a cutting edge businesswoman, October 15, 2002

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Defying the Odds (Hardcover)

"Defying the Odds" is an autobiographical account of Marcia Israel-Curley's trials and triumphs as she founded and grew the "Judy's" line of specialty clothing stores. A highly successful chain that was founded in late 1940's, it set several precedents that are still followed today by most specialty chains.

But this was a time when a woman working outside the home was not totally accepted, a woman at the head of a successful corporation was pretty much unheard of, and the average retail store lasted only three years.

The author starts with some background on her family and her childhood. She follows that with how and why she started the clothing chain and then delves immediately into the ups and downs of the business. From the first small store that was so small it would only allow one customer in it at a time while others waited outside, to 104 stores, it is the story of strength, perseverance, and common sense. An encouraging read for anyone in business for themselves or thinking about it, it is a recommended read.