About the Book Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are the four most influential companies on the planet. Just about everyone thinks they know how they got there. Just about everyone is wrong

The Corner Store
Retailing in the first half of the twentieth century was defined by the corner
store. Proximity ruled the day. You walked to the store and carried what you
could home, sometimes daily. Retail establishments were typically family run
and  played  a  key  social  role  in  the  community,  disseminating  local  news
before  radio  and  TV  became  dominant.  Their  competence  was 
Customer
Relationship  Management
  (CRM),  before  that  term  was  invented.  Shop
owners  knew  their  clientele  and  would  extend  credit  based  upon  your  good
name. Our love affair with retail and the nostalgia we feel when a legendary
retailer  files  for  bankruptcy  (notice  that  it  doesn’t  make  the  news  when  a
venerable oil equipment leasing firm goes under) is a function of our historic
affection for retail, which has been baked into our culture.

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