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By Sydney Schuster
 When
Jane Elfers was in the eighth grade, her class was told to write
a little something about each other for their graduation booklet.
This something was supposed to be a quote, some bit of childlike
wisdom the kids could take away to comfort them in the big bad world
of high school angst. The quote printed about Elfers, who was all
of eleven at the time, was this decidedly unchildlike bit of gravitas:
“Nothing’s ever done ‘til it’s done right.”
Little wonder that the nascent perfectionist grew up to be Lord
& Taylor’s youngest-ever president and CEO.
Elfers took over the helm at L&T in 2000 at the ripe old age
of 39. She’s only the second woman ever to run the outfit
in its 178-year history. The first was Dorothy Shaver, who in the
1940s and ‘50s pioneered the store’s long-time reputation
as the dowager empress of fashion retailing. The first things Elfers
set out to do when she took over was to explode that perception
and restore L&T’s profitability. The task was easier said
than done, as it required a massive restructuring and total image
overhaul of the entire chain.
It wouldn’t have been a breeze for anyone, but Elfers was
smart enough to leverage her youthfulness and business chops to
the benefit of L&T’s bottom line. She wasted no time jettisoning
the cluttered floor layouts and moderate clothing lines of yore
in favor of more contemporary looks. Already the stores and their
stock have a contemporary fashion, more upscale feel. When the five-year
turnaround is complete, the chain will be reduced from 85 units,
many of them underperforming, to 54 profitable ones.
Despite the upheavals and costs inherent in any reconfiguration
of this scope ($380 million, by some estimates), L&T’s
parent, the May Department Stores Company, reported third-quarter
net sales of $3.48 billion, a 17% increase over the year-ago quarter.
Sometimes, perfectionism pays off big time.
Elfers is understandably proud of the makeover she’s masterminding.
The most difficult part, she says looking back on it now, was determining
the most efficient utilization of people based on ability. “The
repositioning has been a tremendously arduous task, and not everyone
was up to it. It took me a couple of years to really understand
each individual's talent and where best to use it.” She admits
to having made mistakes along the way, mainly “in placing
the wrong people in jobs in the early stages. One of the most important
things I’ve learned is that the key to everything is making
sure you have the right people in the right jobs.”
That’s a profound concept not understood by every business
architect. “I owe a great amount of my success to intuition,”
Elfers explains kind of modestly. Nevertheless, it’s also
true that she picked up plenty of practical know-how by being in
and around retail her whole life. Born in Minnesota, her family
relocated to New Jersey when she was eight. Her father was a marketing
executive at Sears for his entire career, a factor she says was
a major influence on her.
“He definitely had an impact on my choice of career. I was
very aware at an early age of how much pressure there is, how fast-paced
retail really is. I was very aware, having seen it firsthand, of
what was involved.”
Did the competition and breakneck pace her father faced ever give
her pause? Hardly. Pressure and more pressure aren’t negatives
to Elfers. Rather, they’re the things on which she thrives.
She knew retail was the place for her.
 After
graduating from Bucknell University in 1983 with a bachelor of science
degree in business administration, she entered a training program
at Bamberger’s. From there she went to Macy’s. In 1989
she was lured away by L&T. She had worked her way up to executive
vice president when she was tapped to succeed Marshall Hilsberg
upon his retirement in 2000.
Obviously, being a woman was never an impediment to Elfers’
career. In fact, she says, “it’s an advantage in my
current job, because the store is so geared towards women my age
that I’m able to understand what the customer wants, and how
she wants to shop.”
To other women looking to succeed in the retail world, Elfers
offers this advice: “Depending on what level you want to seek,
you really need to have some background in business. A business
degree is a good thing to pursue, like an economics degree. There’ve
been very successful people who have a liberal arts background,
so it doesn't have to be a business degree, but I think it helps.
It also helps to understand that retail isn’t about fashion
and fashion shows and lunches and designers. It’s about running
a big, highly pressured business. That’s where people go astray.
They come into the retail field and think it’s going to be
a lot more glamourous. And it’s not.”
Clearly, Elfers is someone who likes her challenges served neat.
“I like the fast-paced environment. I like the unpredictability,
the fact that no two days are ever the same.” If there’s
anything she doesn’t like about her job, it’s just those
pesky things that defy restructuring. “What I like the least
is the degree of dependence on the economy and the weather.”
Spoken like a true general.
Despite the seductive call of retail and her enormously savvy merchandising
at L&T, Elfers never aspired to anyone’s best-dressed
list. In fact, she insists that from an early age she was more of
an efficiency expert than rag hound. “I wasn’t into
fashion as a child or a teenager. My passion was being very organized
and on top of every detail in my own life and everyone else’s.
I always wanted to keep them organized and solve all their problems.
I guess that’s what I do today-keep Lord & Taylor organized
and solve all its problems!”
At the top of that list is the restructuring effort Elfers leads.
Not only was it complex and costly, but there were painful layoffs
associated with the store closures. “It pretty much has gone
the way I expected. It’s a big deal,” she admits, “but
once you get through it, you know it’s the right thing to
do. It’s been a long road. But if you stick to the vision,
it’s going to pay dividends now and in the future.”
Elfers’ family is extraordinarily understanding of her vision,
not to mention her workaholism —a clue to how she successfully
pulls off the Superwoman trick. “I have a very, very sup-portive
husband, a terrific kid, and a great nanny,” she says. “I
try very hard to spend quality time with my family.”
It’s an effort that others have noticed, too. In 2002 the
National Mother’s Day Committee gave her its annual Outstanding
Mother Award, an acknowledgement of her accomplishments as both
a professional and a parent. Elfers says, “My daughter means
the world to me, and it was nice to be recognized. I’m not
sure that I deserved it. I don’t think one ever feels they
do enough for their kids. But it was a great honor, and my daughter
was there to see it and enjoy the day with me.” When asked
what exactly is her greatest accomplishment as a parent, she quips,
“Choosing the perfect husband!”
It seems reasonable to wonder whether Elfers’ eight-year-old
daughter will follow her into retail, the same way Elfers followed
her father. Mom already knows the answer. “My daughter is
extremely opinionated. She asks me this question all the time: ‘Mommy,
can you choose the next president of Lord & Taylor? Can you
please choose me?!’”
Elfers reply? “I tell her to be careful what she wishes for.”
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