“Independents do it better. George likes retail mavericks, the places where the visionaries are still at the wheel”, writes Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy in praise of Retail Superstars, a book from US retail guru George Whalin.
Not published in the UK, it took me six months to get Penguin to send me a review copy and it was worth it. If you are an independent retailer who wants to make your business more successful then Retail Superstars is a must read and easy to purchase on Amazon.
This is not because the “25 Best Independent Stores in America” are like your shop. It is not because you will find some quick wins to use in your shop. It is not because you will find some secrets that you did not know.
On the surface, some of these US shops are just too big. Jungle Jim’s is a 300,000 square foot independent grocers with 150,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of fresh and packaged foods. Gallery Furniture spends $10 million a year on television advertising. Art Electronics is in a 350,000 square foot shed.
But read on and past the statistics and you will notice how much George Whalin loves retailing and the details that he picks on which show that these 25 businesses have hit many of the same obstacles that you have hit in your business and overcome them. The book tells you how to run your shop rather than letting your shop run you.
For one type of independent they will love Michael Barefoot’s story. “We’re certainly in the food business,” he says. “But there’s a whole other level…we’re here to make people feel better when they leave than when they came in.” What’s his management secret? When he took on his first employee he drew a chalk line down the middle of the shop and said this is my half, do what I do in your half.
For another there is Roger Maxwell’s story about developing In Celebration of Golf based on his learning as a vice president of the Marriott hotel group. His golf shops are, according to George Whalin, as good at retail execution as you can get.
“Throughout the research for this book I looked for keys to the long term success of these retailers. Did they have anything in common? One constant I found was the quality of the people hired to work in the stores,” says Mr Whalin. He is a good story teller and you will be inspired by his selection of great independent stores, warts and all. My only quibble, the photography on the website supporting the book is not great or easy to use.
No good retailer can fail to gain 10 great ideas from reading this book that they can use in their shops. Buy it as soon as you can and use it to invest in your own personal vision. Start right here, right now!
Not published in the UK, it took me six months to get Penguin to send me a review copy and it was worth it. If you are an independent retailer who wants to make your business more successful then Retail Superstars is a must read and easy to purchase on Amazon.
This is not because the “25 Best Independent Stores in America” are like your shop. It is not because you will find some quick wins to use in your shop. It is not because you will find some secrets that you did not know.
On the surface, some of these US shops are just too big. Jungle Jim’s is a 300,000 square foot independent grocers with 150,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of fresh and packaged foods. Gallery Furniture spends $10 million a year on television advertising. Art Electronics is in a 350,000 square foot shed.
But read on and past the statistics and you will notice how much George Whalin loves retailing and the details that he picks on which show that these 25 businesses have hit many of the same obstacles that you have hit in your business and overcome them. The book tells you how to run your shop rather than letting your shop run you.
For one type of independent they will love Michael Barefoot’s story. “We’re certainly in the food business,” he says. “But there’s a whole other level…we’re here to make people feel better when they leave than when they came in.” What’s his management secret? When he took on his first employee he drew a chalk line down the middle of the shop and said this is my half, do what I do in your half.
For another there is Roger Maxwell’s story about developing In Celebration of Golf based on his learning as a vice president of the Marriott hotel group. His golf shops are, according to George Whalin, as good at retail execution as you can get.
“Throughout the research for this book I looked for keys to the long term success of these retailers. Did they have anything in common? One constant I found was the quality of the people hired to work in the stores,” says Mr Whalin. He is a good story teller and you will be inspired by his selection of great independent stores, warts and all. My only quibble, the photography on the website supporting the book is not great or easy to use.
No good retailer can fail to gain 10 great ideas from reading this book that they can use in their shops. Buy it as soon as you can and use it to invest in your own personal vision. Start right here, right now!
Excelet post Nick, can I suggest the addition of this link if its published on BR.
ReplyDeleteSteve
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Retail-Superstars-Inside-Independent-America/dp/1591842603/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299607014&sr=8-1-catcorr#reader_1591842603