PMA February 2010 : Page 27PMA 2010 Whalin: It comes from their customers. T at really seems too simple, but it’s true. T ese guys hear from their customers on a daily basis about what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want. I’ll use that furniture retailer in Houston again as an example. Customers complained about having to wait to get their furniture. T ey would buy it, and then get it maybe two weeks or three weeks later. T e owner responded by beginning to display only the items he had a quantity of in his warehouse. If the customer bought it today, they would get it today. He built his business on that concept. Now, he has a hugely successful, high-volume furniture store. T ey don’t have a massive selection of furniture; but what they have, they have in stock. PMA: What’s one of your favorite stories highlighted in your book? Whalin: One of my favorite stories is certainly Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfi eld, Ohio. It’s a food store unlike any other. It started out as a fruit stand, and today is a 300,000 square- foot food emporium. T e average Wal-Mart Supercenter is 187,000 square feet, so Jungle Jim’s store is 60 percent larger than that. T ey sell food from around the world, and they carry the products customers have asked for. T ey have the most unusual selection you can imagine. T ey have hogs heads. I didn’t even know people ate hogs heads; but if you go in there today, you’ll fi nd a selection of a dozen hogs heads. T ey have chicken feet and duck feet. T ey have 1,200 diff erent varieties of hot sauce. T e owner, Jim Bonaminio – better known as “Jungle Jim” – built a display with an old fi re truck, a real one, sitting on top of the hot sauce. T ere is a real boat in the fi sh department. T e store is fun. T ey’re innovative. T ey don’t do the same things as everybody else. Hear more on the DIMAcast Learn much more about the stores Whalin features in his book, “Retail Superstars,” and what makes them so successful, by listening to this interview, available now on the DIMAcast at www.dimacast.com. PMA: Is this kind of success within the grasp of any retailer? Whalin: T ese people are unique in what they’ve done, but they’re not unique people. T ey’re just normal, everyday people who wanted to have a business. T e key to it is being diff erent than everybody else. Most retail businesses look, act, and function like everybody else. If your store is like every other store, why should a customer do business with you? T ese stores are diff erent, and each one of them draws tremendous numbers of customers. PMA: What will you discuss at your PMA 2010 session? What do you want attendees to take from it? Whalin: I am going to talk about how to build a business in this environment, and what to do to be better at it. In many businesses, retail or otherwise, the problems are self-infl icted. T ey don’t pay attention to the customers. T ey don’t distinguish themselves from everybody else. T ey don’t fi nd a way to make their businesses better than the competition. I’ll discuss how to stand out and how to grow, no matter what the environment is, no matter what the economy is. T ere are op- portunities out there for every single business – no matter what’s going on around you. ■ Contact Us 175 West 2950 South Salt Lake City, UT 84115 Tel: 801 467-3391 Fax: 801 467-3394 laser@nationallaser.com VISIBLE WAVELENGTH LASERS Feeling trapped by Fuji and Noritsu laser replacement options? WE ARE THE ALTERNATIVE! National Laser Company, the leader in laser replacement offers its replacement lasers for your Fuji and Noritsu Mini Labs. LIFE SCIENCE IMAGE RECORDING INSPECTION SCIENTIFIC www.nationallaser.com PMA — February 2010 — www.pmai.org 27 National Laser Company |
