This summer, 'Ketchup' on your reading - summer reading list for retail executives - Editorial

Discount Store News, July 15, 1996 by Tony Lisanti

With the official addition of the so-called "B-Retailers" to the DSN Top 200 list, which was published in the last issue (July l, 1996), I realized it was both appropriate and timely to do some important "field work."

For those of you unfamiliar with the term and possibly getting a little unsettled about what this is all about, the "B-Retailers" refer to the major growth classification of retailing: books. Not only does the segment start with the letter "B," but all of the top chains do as well - Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books-a-Million. Pretty clever, huh.

So I headed to Paramus, N.J., a few weeks ago where on busy Route 17, one of the nations most densely populated and busiest shopping meccas, the world's largest bookstore is located. It was a perfect opportunity to better understand the social phenomena of the book superstore format and to do some research for the often touted second annual summer reading list for retailers who require a bit of relaxation.

As I snuggled up on one of the big, comfortable armchairs in this Barnes & Noble store, it brought back a lot of fond memories of the original store on 18th Street in Manhattan. When I was a kid, I remember my older brother, then an aspiring professor at New York University, towing me around searching for the great bargains,, and "treasures" hidden somewhere on the thousands of shelves throughout the store. It was a lot of fun then, and it is even more fun now.

The superstore retailers have enhanced the concept with huge selections, sharper prices, great service and other amenities like cappuccino/espresso bars and various social activities.

According to DSN's 1995 annual report, the book superstore segment ranked second behind supercenters among 21 classifications posting 45.9% increase in sales over 1994. The superstore segment, which will grow by 160 stores this year, will garner 40% of total book sales by the year 2000.

But enough about the characteristics, experience and growth of this segment. Here's that power reading list I researched while relaxing in the comfortable, cozy and serene ambiance of the B&N superstore that you will hopefully enjoy while relaxing on your summer vacation. It combines some titles written by retail industry experts, some general business titles and some simply trash, reading when you just want to forget all about skus, EDLP, HTML and IMRA. It runs the gamut from Dennis to Dilbert and Clicking to Jamming.

* "Wooing Customers Back. How to give great service and increase your own success" by Mark Holmes, Advance Mark Publishing.

* "Getting Employees to Fall in Love With Your Company" by Jim Harris, Amacom.

* "The New Positioning. The Latest on the World's #l Business Strategy" by Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin McGraw Hill.

* "Memos from the Chairman" by Alan C. Greenberg, Workman Publishing.

* "Beyond Re-engineering. How the process-entered organization is changing our work and our lives" by Michael Hammer, HarperBusiness.

* "Jamming. The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity" by John Kao, HarperBusiness.

* "Clicking.. 16 Trends to future fit your life, your work and your business" by Faith Popcorn, Harper Collins.

* "Toxic Work. How to overcome stress, overload and burnout and revitalize your career" by Barbara Bailey, Dutton.

* "Customer Centered Growth, Five proven strategies for building competitive advantage" by Richard Whiteley, Diane Hessan, Addison-Wesley.

* "The Second Curve: Managing the Velocity of Change" by Ian Morrison, Ballantine Books.

* "The Dilbert Principle, A cubicle's eye view of bosses, meetings, management fads and other workplace afflictions" by Scott Adams, HarperBusiness.

If you like a good story of Hollywood intrigue try "Hit S, Run," (Simon & Schuster) about the Sony Corp. or if you're into sports and ego try Bad As I Wanna Be, (Delacorte) by Dennis Rodman.

Of course, there's John Grisham's, "The Runaway Jury" (doubleday) or Jack Higgins, "drink with the Devil" (Putnam) or my personal favorite, which has been on The New York Times best-seller list for more than 150 weeks, Oh, The Places You'll Go,, @Random Housel by Dr. Seuss.

And finally, when you are biting into the third double cheeseburger that you swore you wouldn't touch no matter how many barbecues you attended, think red. Well, perhaps that's a poor choice of words for any retailer nowadays, so think ketchup. And if you really get desperate for something to read you might want to try "Pure Ketchup. A History of America's National Condiment," by Andrew F. Smith, University of South Carolina Press.