Monday, Sep. 18, 1989

Business Notes EAST-WEST TRADE

The hottest buzz word on Madison Avenue is fast becoming perestroika. The latest sign of Soviet chic: Moscow unveiled an ad campaign last week to lure U.S. business travelers onto Aeroflot, the national airline. Created by Miami's Kelley Swofford Inc., the ads tempt Americans with "perestroika perks" ranging from complimentary nights in a Moscow hotel to a free Mont Blanc pen "to sign your deal with the Russians."

Americans who stay at home can sample the fruits of Soviet industry at trendy stores like New York City's Bloomingdale's, which in August opened a Perestroika Shop. Back-to-school shoppers could choose last week from Soviet items that included watches, sunglasses and Red Star-emblazoned sweat shirts. The department store company is now negotiating to open one or two small Bloomingdale's shops in Moscow next spring. Not to be outdone, Nathan's Famous, a New York-based fast-food chain, last week shipped a 40-ft. mobile restaurant to Moscow, where it will open Sept. 25 in Red Square.