Retailers Forum Magazine January 2022 EMAG

FORUM WORKSHOP
forumworkshop
FRONT MAN ON THE FRONT LINE
Your biggest responsibility is to make sure
what the public sees in you is likable. All
types of relationships and perceptions rest on
that foundation. Recall the neighborhood stores
of your youth. What do you remember most
about those places? More likely than not, when
you think of the store, the owner comes to
mind: his personality, accent, laughter, or
frown. The successful store owner is virtually
inseparable from the store. The
two create an identity, a unified
whole. A store may change
hands and be regarded as the
same store. But with each new
owner, the business assumes a
new identity, a reflection of the
owner’s personality.
That’s something lost to the larger stores, the
impersonal places that seem to dominate so
much of modern retailing. Some retail chains
try to reclaim this identity through advertising,
using the company founder as a spokesperson
espousing the store philosophy. Noble as the attempt
may be, it’s just not the same as walking
in and seeing that person stacking shelves or
standing behind the register. That’s the kind of
personal connection, the sense of one-on-one
contact, that makes shopping the small store so
special. People want to see and hear from the
expert, the front man or woman who is the
store.
Personality is part of the appeal of the
specialty store in today’s market. Every successful
store provides an experience for the
shopper, separate from the buying process.
continued...
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Page 76 JANUARY 2022 | RETAILERS FORUM MAGAZINE