Author: Mark Scott

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2021-07-10

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13:

Can you imagine walking into a department store and price being the last factor in your buying decision? Can you imagine shopping being more like visiting a museum than a scavenger hunt? Can you imagine the salesperson welcoming you by your name and feeling like every, single item in the store was designed just for you, because it was! This is the story of Retales---, a chronicle of my retail career from 1974 to 1986 during the last great era of department stores. It tells of the story of the time I spent working and living in NYC, getting my feet wet at Bloomingdale's and surviving the kill or be killed mentality that was pervasive there to rise from stock boy to a senior buyer. I then moved on to climbing the ranks to VP ay Lord&Taylor, that American beauty Rose that has just dropped its last petal. Although I later rose to the level of CEO of several retail companies, my debut book tells the tale of the formative years of my career when department stores dominated the retail landscape. ReTales is a compilation of stories from this period, the story of a time when a merchant was responsible for the product from cradle to grave, and the eclectic bunch of unforgettable characters I worked for and with. There was the Chairman, Big Bird, the Little Guy, the Jersey Guy, Mr. Direct and Suss to name a few. We worked hard, played hard and never took ourselves seriously. The story takes place in NYC where I worked and played during the most exciting period of my entire career. My days were filled searching for the finest, most fashionable merchandise and bringing it all to life in these two great NY retail institutions. This search took me over the world seeking the ideal mix of merchandise to enchant our customers. I fondly recall the many steps involved from ideation to finished product which was elegantly displayed on the selling floor to entice our very loyal clientele. Every single decision was made to captivate and thrill our customers and make them feel that somehow this store always had what they most desired. My evenings included enjoying the best the city had to offer from a totally spontaneous hilarious evening with Rodney Dangerfield, being told to shut up by John McEnroe at the US Open, and asking for a table in the no shooting section at Spark's Steakhouse after Mafia chieftain Paul Castellano was gunned down outside the restaurant. It also included escaping to East Hampton during the brutal summers in downtown Manhattan and stopping at the Howard Johnson all you can eat $6.99 fish fry. This was at the behest of my boss as we were heading to his mansion driving in his Rolls Royce. If you were a shopper during this period, my tome will bring back memories of a world long gone and draw back the back the curtain to reveal how we made the magic you found each time you entered through the revolving doors. If this was before your time, you may think my book is fiction, but let me show you that once upon a time, such delights really did exist.