Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America

Citation

Gonçalves, K.P. (2010), "Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 297-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761011038419

This book reminds me somewhat of another book I reviewed for JCM, How to Succeed at Retail by Keith Lincoln and Lars Thomassen. Both books read like something a motivational speaker might write, but underneath the superlatives, simplification, and cheeriness, both offer excellent ideas. Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America offers case studies of twenty‐five stores. Within those case studies is ample evidence that what professors teach in marketing classes does, in fact, make sense for real businesses.

Retail Superstars begins with an annotated table of contents providing a glimpse of each business (six pages), followed by what reads like a chapter but is called the introduction (nine pages). The book then launches immediately into the case studies (most are eight to twelve pages each). Each case study provides background on the company history and location, which puts its target market in perspective, and then describes the store itself. The descriptions are fun to read in small doses (Warning: Do not attempt to read this book all at once, or the overly cheery tone could drive you to distraction), as they demonstrate the enormous range of entrepreneurship and ingenuity for which America is known.

The author has built a website to accompany the book. This writer suggests waiting until you have read at least half the book before going to the website, because you are likely to learn and enjoy it more if you wait. Besides, the site is at least as much about promoting the author and book as it is about the subject firms.

For the most part, the stores included in the book target very narrow niche markets (e.g., high end specialty fashion; specialty knives; Christmas merchandise; surfers), so conventional wisdom suggests that they will either always remain small, local businesses, or that they will be bought by larger enterprises as a means to growth. However, every company profiled has sales levels dramatically higher than what readers might expect. Naturally, the supposed secret to each firm's financial and market success is revealed within the case studies.

As I read through the book, I kept track of how often the same “secrets” were revealed, hoping a few common characteristics would emerge. I was not disappointed. All of the businesses included in this book are customer‐driven in the true sense of that phrase – every aspect of their businesses is determined by what they believe their customers want and need from that particular business; and their definition of what their customers want and need changes over time. What makes the case studies interesting is how each business translates “customer‐driven” into its everyday actions. It would reveal too much about the book to provide examples, so curious readers are encouraged to find this out for themselves.

Interestingly, the tools and techniques used by these firms (from wine tastings to musical events to unusual architecture) are also used by other (mostly larger, national or international) companies. What sets these firms apart is their ability to keep their loyal customer base, and to generate new, profitable sales.

The other common characteristics/secrets range from offering amazingly deep and broad merchandise assortments, to delivering entertainment while shopping, to constant innovation. All of their actions give customers compelling reasons to keep coming back to the same store over and over again. For the businesses in this book that rely heavily on tourists, it was interesting to read what they do on a continual basis, to make their stores an important destination for people who might only visit once. It was especially fun to read how “ordinary” businesses found a way to become extraordinary, as well as how they have used technology (e.g., really cool websites; inventory management systems; unique management; reporting systems) or relied on vertical integration to build their businesses beyond their home geography.

The author reminds readers regularly that every business included in this book competes against some of the largest, most successful retailers in the world, yet they continue to be successful. This alone is inspirational for budding (and perhaps struggling) entrepreneurs. It is also important to think about what each of these businesses has actually done over the years to become what they are today. Many are now managed by the second or third generation of the family who founded the business, which makes them fairly rare. This also offers encouragement to entrepreneurs who want to pass on their own business within their family.

One potential flaw is that the author glosses over how long it took these businesses to become successful – some were started in the late 1800s and many were started decades ago. Another potential flaw is that the author does not mention the level of capital investment required to build and sustain these businesses. The cost and sophisticated systems required to manage these businesses is well beyond the capacity of most small businesses, which is one reason why it has taken many years to reach their current level of success. Finally, the challenges these businesses faced along the way are only mentioned in passing. However, this book was not written to discuss challenges. It is clearly focused on long‐term success, and the knowledge that the most successful businesses will find a way to overcome a range of challenges.

An enjoyable aspect of this book is that the author selected stores from across the country, so most readers can visit one or more of these stores without having to go too far. For those who prefer not to travel, the author has included contact information for each business at the end of each case study. If a particular business captures one's attention, that reader can choose to become immersed in that website immediately.

On balance, this book offers more to practitioners than to academics, but both might find it worth reading. Business owners are likely to find actions, decision‐making processes, merchandising techniques, and other ideas that they can use in their own businesses. Professors will be gratified that what they teach actually works in practice, and can find a wealth of ideas for student research and for projects with local businesses. Students are likely to find these case studies to be a source of good ideas when conducting serious, in‐depth case analyses as part of their coursework, and/or as ideas for their own businesses when they graduate.