BUILT FOR GROWTH Expanding Your Business Around the Corner or Across the Globe

Chapter 17. Defining Your Mission in the New Age of Retail

RETAIL FOR ME is more than a job. It is a mission. In a sales world reputed to be going digital, I am a brick-and-mortar guy. Other businesses may be stimulating, but nothing quite compares with the real-world buzz of retail. Everything about it has a creative or sensory component. Creating a new concept has both an intellectual and visceral appeal. Retail design excites people's senses and influences their behavior. An architect by training, I am particularly drawn to this part of the work. The anticipation of a new store is embodied physically in the whine of the circular saw and the pounding of hammers. All the details—from choosing the furnishings and finessing the small touches to ...