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                                                                   EXHIBIT 24.1



                              POWERS OF ATTORNEY
                              MAZEL STORES, INC.


        KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that MAZEL STORES, INC., an Ohio
corporation, and each person whose name is signed below hereby constitutes and
appoints Reuven Dessler, Brady Churches and Susan Atkinson, and each of them,
their attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and
resubstitution, for and on behalf of Mazel Stores, Inc. and the undersigned
directors and/or officers of Mazel Stores, Inc., and each of such directors and
officers, to sign the Mazel Stores, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended January 25, 1997, and any and all amendments thereto, and
related documents, and to file the same, with Exhibits thereto and other
documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
granting such attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and
perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary in connection with
such matters and herby ratifying and confirming all that such attorneys-in-fact
and agents or their substitute or substitutes may do or cause to be done by
virtue hereof.

        This Power of Attorney of Mazel Stores, Inc., and the directors and
officers of Mazel Stores, Inc. may be executed in multiple counterparts, each
of which shall be deemed an original with respect to the person executing it.

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Power of Attorney has been signed this 25th
day of April, 1997.

                                        MAZEL STORES, INC.

                                        By:  /s/ Reuven Dessler
                                            -------------------   
                                            Reuven Dessler,
                                            Chairman of the Board and
                                            Chief Executive Officer

DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS:

/s/ Reuven Dessler                          /s/ Brady Churches
- ------------------                         -------------------
Reuven Dessler,                             Brady Churches
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer

/s/ Jacob Koval                             /s/ Jerry Sommers
- ---------------                             -----------------
Jacob Koval                                 Jerry Sommers


/s/ Ned L. Sherwood                         /s/ Charles G. Bilezikian
- -------------------                         --------------------------
Ned L. Sherwood                             Charles G. Bilezikian

/s/ Robert Horne                            /s/ Phillip Cohen
- ----------------                            -----------------
Robert Horne                                Phillip Cohen


                              /s/ Susan Atkinson
                              ------------------
                              Susan Atkinson,
                              Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
                              (Principal Accounting Officer)