In Retail Superstars,
George Whalin, president
and CEO of Retail Management Consultants and RetailWire BrainTrust
panelist, profiles
and celebrates 25 smaller, often-quirky stores that have flourished in
the face of competition from bigger rivals.
In a Wall Street Journal book review, Paul Carroll wrote, "Even if Mr. Whalin is more of a cheerleader than dispassionate observer, he does toss out a nugget or two of wisdom that might help independent retailers who aspire to superstardom."
Among the stores featured:
- Archie McPhee, a Seattle-based novelty store, that has built its rabid following by selling bacon-flavored toothpicks, bandages that look like fried eggs and "The World's Largest Underpants";
- Estes Ark, a stuffed-animal shop in Estes Park, Colo., that has become a "customer magnet" by housing itself in a building shaped like Noah's Ark;
- In Houston, Bering's first morphed from a lumberyard into a hardware store and then began selling gourmet coffee and housewares such as Baccarat crystal and Spode china after seeing the neighborhood go upscale. Nearly half of the inventory at Bering's is still hardware;
- Renowned for its customer service and huge inventory, Powell's City of Books in Portland, Ore., has had two of its customers asked to have their ashes placed there;
- At Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio, 300,000 square feet of space allows the store to carry everything from $8,000 bottles of wine to hogs' heads. Restroom doors "are designed so that customers think they're going into Porta Potties, only to find beautifully appointed restrooms inside;"
- At Abt Electronics in Glenview, Ill, restrooms are "designed like those you might find in a five-star hotel," include marble floors and counters;
- In Scottsdale, Ariz., the restrooms in A Celebration of Golf are replicas of those at Augusta National, the Georgia home of the Masters golf tournament. Salesmen wear white jumpsuits like Augusta's caddies;
- A Southern Season, a gourmet retailer in Chapel Hill, N.C., opens five minutes before its stated hours begin to please "both early birds and potentially annoyed customers whose watches don't show the correct time;"
- Ron Jon Surf Shop, in Cocoa Beach, Fla., advertises so extensively that Floridians play "the Ron Jon billboard game." People guess how many miles they'll drive before seeing another of the store's huge ads.
Mr. Carroll concluded with a few tenets to "superstar" success found in the book: "Be a showman. Have a huge selection. Take care of your customers. And pay attention to those restrooms."
Discussion question: What would be your keys to "superstar" success for smaller retailers? Of some of the underlying themes mentioned in Retail Superstar - customer service, marketing, selection, etc. - which stands out as the most critical differentiator against bigger chains?