Author Archives: skittel

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About skittel

I blog, therefor I am. For Selling the Outdoors and The Observant Customer with over 25 years of experience in providing, managing and training outdoor retail customer service.

The European Way

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“Bonjour”   “Good day”   “Góðan dag”

French, English or Icelandic, no matter the language, it is expected that when a shopper enters a store in Europe they will greet the shopkeeper.  And of course, the shopkeeper will respond in kind.

The reason for this is a matter of perspective.  In the United States, customers view stores as a public place.  But in Europe, stores are viewed as private property.  Just as you would never enter someone else’s private home without greeting them, you would likewise never enter a “private” store without a greeting.

In retail history

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Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution 1910

Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution 1910

On October 9th, 1868, the first full-line department store in the United States is opened in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Brigham Young of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) founded the Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) to serve the people of Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC).

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In retail history

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field_leiter__co-_later_marshall_field_building_by_j-_bullock“The formal opening by Field, Leiter & Co., of Potter Palmer’s new marble palace on the corner of Washington and State streets, last evening, was the grandest affair of the kind whichever transpired, even in Chicago, the city of grand affairs,” reported the Chicago Tribune about the opening of the Field, Leiter & Company’s new store on Chicago’s State Street on October 12th, 1868.

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The shops, the service and the charm of Old World Retailing

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France - By David Monniaux - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=168053

France – By David Monniaux – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=168053

I just returned from a trip to Europe.  My travels took me to Paris to Reims to Lyon and finally, Geneva.  While the purpose of my trip was personal, I did take the opportunity to visit a number of retail stores and boutiques while traveling.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting about some of the shops that I visited and the things I observed in the old world.

Je vous invite à lire les messages à venir.

(I invite you to read the upcoming posts.)

 

In retail history

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Southdale Center circa 1958 MN Historical Society

Southdale Center circa 1958
MN Historical Society

On October 8th, 1956, Southdale Mall opens in Edina, MN. It is the oldest fully enclosed climate-controlled mall in the United States.

The head of Dayton’s Department Store commissioned a study that determined that Minnesota only has 126 “ideal shopping weather days” a year.  With that in mind, Donald Dayton hired Victor Gruen to design and build a fully enclosed shopping mall.  The original design for the 500 acres included the mall, houses, a school, medical center and a park with a lake.  The mall and the medial center were all that were ever completed.

75,000 people attended opening day taking full advantage of the free parking arranged in animal-themed sections.  There were 72 smaller shops and two anchor department stores.  60 years later, Southdale is still serving the shoppers of Minnesota.

 

You have no idea…

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optic

Last fall I was in the market for a new tent and after doing some research, I narrowed the choices down to just three.  Given my size, I like to try tents out before I buy them so I headed out to the local Mountain Hardwear shop where they had the Mountain Hardwear Optic 2.5 in stock.

Having done my research ahead of time, I knew the statistics on the tent such as dimensions, weight, packed size and materials.  I also knew the price.  At $240, it is a moderately priced tent in the Mountain Hardwear line, where tents can range to over $500.

I arrived at the store nicely dressed and freshly showered.  As I entered the store, I was greeted warmly by the person near the cash wrap as I made my way to the back of the store to the tent department.  As luck would have it, the Optic 2.5 was actually set up on the sales floor for display.  This kept me from going through the hassle of asking to have the tent set-up.  As I bent down to crawl into the tent, a clerk approached me.

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