 |
|
Retail Success!
by George Whalin
| List Price: |
$25.00 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
|
Hardcover
Publisher: Willoughby Press
Terri Pilot
ISBN13: 9780970643506
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy, wrote the foreword to Retail Success! Here's how he describes the book. If you look at the graduates of the five leading business schools in the U.S. over the past fifty years and look at the first job graduates took with their new MBA in hand, only a tiny percentage went to retail companies.
Retail for the last millennia has been something people discovered they had in their blood. Whether brilliant merchant or plodding vendor, retail demanded a special commitment. At any level the only thing guaranteed was hard work.
The point of entry, if it wasn't through family, was often by accident. A part-time job that turned full-time. Discovering a flair or talent for something that precipitated the need to trade. For many senior executives the retail job offer came as a sideways career move. For many small merchants the step into the retail abyss came from the desire to work for themselves. However, running a store or a chain of stores is harder than it looks from the outside. Giving good store means understanding layout and merchandising. It means being able to lead and inspire employees. It means delivering on your promise to the customer consistently day after day.
Being a good merchant has never been easy. The great merchants of the twentieth century learned the details of their craft the hard way--by doing it. They succeed by guts, instinct, and ability to stay focused. If they were lucky, they had a mentor. Someone who brought insight out of chaos. Someone who was willing to teach and help revisit the fundamentals. Someone who could look and listen. For every merchant or aspiring merchant who has missed having that personal mentor, there is George Whalin.
Unlike Columbia Business School professors, George never uses a twenty-five cent word when a nickel word would do just fine. There are no flow charts or fancy three-dimensional diagrams. George dispenses plain and straightforward good advice. From small comic book store owners to the CEO of giant retail chains, George has been a mentor, coach, and cheerleader. In person, George inspires calm and confidence. He's old enough and gray enough to inspire trust and yet he has an easy laugh and melodious voice that is a pleasure to listen to. In this new book, that sonorous and easy tone comes right through the printed words on the page.
If you are in retail, time never comes to you in big chunks. You get breaks, some when you are bone weary, others when you just need to hide for a few minutes. Believe me, George understands. To be honest, you don't have to read this book cover to cover. You don't have to start at the beginning. You can flip and surf, dip and sip. But if you have anything to do with retail, I do recommend that you get to know George and this book is a great place to start.
| Customer Reviews: |
|
| |
| E-tail Success! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
 |
|
I read Retail Success! even though I am an e-tailer. It is important to my business to create a website experience as good as the best brick and mortar retailer. George Whalin speaks of the Wow factor in some retail stores and what it takes to create it. He tells the reader what it takes to be a good manager. He even tells the reader what not to do!
All these ideas and more I can adapt to my business. At the end he challenges the reader to answer 5 questions. I can answer a resounding yes to all 5 of them, but that doesn't mean I can rest on my laurels. So as long as I'm here, I think I'll purchase his new book.
|
| Boring! |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
 |
|
I love retail and I love business books, so I was suprised and dissapointed when I couldn't even finish this book it was so boring and ill-written. Bummer!
|
| Excellent--Very Helpful |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
I thought our store was really good at service and individuality. But after reading Retail Success, I came to realize we have lots of room for improvement. It's an evolutionary process and we must continue to evaluate ourselves. This book is a good kick in the pants and offers constructive suggestions from a guy who obviously has been in the trenches. He wrote about asking myself, "What if...we tried something a different way?" That opened my eyes to the process of change. Also, I now ask my employees for suggestions and I ask my customers what they think. Great read!
|
| Not recommended |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
|
|
The book contained basic information and was below expectations. The writing style was boring and uncaptivating. I expected to have my emotions charged while reading the book as consumer retail buying is widely accepted as an emotional experience. It was a disappointing read as the book did not do justice to the topic of retail success.
|
| Good Basic Information |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
 |
|
The book presented several good bits of very basic information. It was an easy read. For someone w/ any experience or familiar w/ the basics, it was a little too basic. Great for chceking on in a library in that case (since there were a few really good tips that were original) but otherwise save your money. For someone not familiar w/ the basics, this may be a good place to start.
|
