Owner of Ralph’s Discount City
The directions were simple — “Across the street from the Kaufmann’s clock” — and so, too, was the business philosophy: Sell everything and anything at a discount.
With that business model, entrepreneur Isaac “Zack” Pilossoph founded Ralph’s Discount City in 1964, making it a landmark in the heart of Downtown for three decades by selling merchandise ranging from aspirin to cameras, from cleaning products to televisions, from cigarettes to VCRs.
A self-made man with a vision, Mr. Pilossoph used Ralph’s as a launching pad for inventive businesses such as stand-alone kiosks for film developing, and as a middleman between movie studios and the video rental businesses.
Along the way, in the mid-1970s, he employed a young, impressionable friend of the family, Mark Cuban, at Ralph’s and was the sole investor in the nowbillionaire entrepreneur’s first venture, selling collectible stamps.
On both “Shark Tank” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Mr. Cuban mentioned and thanked Mr. Pilossoph by name for his long-ago guidance and kindness.
Mr. Pilossoph, 89, formerly of Mt. Lebanon, died at his home in Riviera Beach, Fla., on Friday following a lengthy illness.
“Zack was amazing,” Mr. Cuban said via email Saturday when informed of Mr. Pilossoph’s death. “He believed in me before anyone and I will always remember him for it. He will be missed.”
Born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents, Mr. Pilossoph was the oldest of four children. When his father died young, Mr. Pilossoph took on the responsibilities of caring for his mother and three siblings.
At 16, he quit school and joined the Merchant Marines, serving in World War II. He joined the Army and served in the Korean War, as well.
He became a member of a partnership that opened a chain of discount stores in various cities. He personally opened the Pittsburgh store and the man who operated it was Ralph, thus the name.
But in less than a year after the opening the partnership split up “and no one wanted the Pittsburgh store,” said his son, William, of Collier. “Really, he came to Pittsburgh with very little money and worked on a shoestring.
“He basically risked everything to come to a city he didn’t know but came to love.”
Mr. Pilossoph developed a loyal customer base by featuring loss leaders, such as Listerine, at extreme discounts to get heavy traffic into the store.
Ralph’s also provided film developing, and Mr. Pilossoph came upon the idea in the mid-1970s of setting up film development kiosks in shopping malls, a first for the Pittsburgh region. He sold that company — named Fotohut — and its five to 10 stores, to another company three years later.
Ralph’s was also one of the first establishments to rent videocassettes, long before behemoths like Blockbuster did so. Retailers in Pittsburgh began calling Mr. Pilossoph to buy VHS and Beta videocassettes and another idea struck him. Thus was born VTR Movie Distributors, a middleman between movie studios and Pittsburgh rental and retail stores. After six years in the business, he sold it to W.R. Grace.
“It was a huge business, by far his largest business with well over 100 employees,” his son recalled. “He never thought it would get as big as it did. It really surprised him.”
Mr. Pilossoph was one of the founders of the Jewish Community Center in the South Hills.
In 2005, Mr. Pilossoph and his wife, Frieda, to whom he was married for 58 years, moved to Florida.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and was given a 1 in 6 chance of living another year. He lived an additional nine. His son attributed that to his father’s “strong will to live.”
In addition to his son and wife, Mr. Pilossoph is survived by three daughters, Susan Pilossoph of West Palm Beach, Fla., Jacqueline Pilossoph of Chicago and Robin Thompson of New York; a brother, Martin, of Queens N.Y.; two sisters, Irene Esses and Foosy Beda, both of Brooklyn; and eight grandchildren.
Funeral services and burial will be Sunday in West Palm Beach, Fla. A memorial service will be held in Pittsburgh at a date to be announced.
Memorial contributions may be made to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, 5150 Centre Ave., Suite 1B, Pittsburgh, PA 15232