A glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza.The twentieth century American department store: a palace of consumption where every wish could be met under one roof – afternoon tea, a stroll through the latest fashions, a wedding (or funeral) planned. It was a place where women, shopper and shopgirl alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York or Chicago or on Main Street, USA, men owned the buildings, but inside, women ruled.In this hothouse atmosphere, three women rose to the top. In the 1930s, Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller came to her husband's department store as a housewife tasked with attracting more shoppers like herself, and wound up running the company. Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor championed American designers during World War II--before which US fashions were almost exclusively Parisian copies--becoming the first businesswoman to earn a $1 million salary. And in the 1960s Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel re-invented the look of the modern department store. With a preternatural sense for trends, she inspired a devoted following of ultra-chic shoppers as well as decades of copycats.In When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, journalist Julie Satow draws back the curtain on three visionaries who took great risks, forging new paths for the women who followed in their footsteps. This stylish account, rich with personal drama and trade secrets, captures the department store in all its glitz, decadence, and fun, and showcases the women who made that beautifully curated world go round. Read more

The book describes many New Thought beliefs such as the law of attraction, creative visualization and man's unity with God, and teaches the importance of truth, harmonious thinking and the ability to concentrate. Each of the 24 chapters contains an introduction, followed by a sequentially numbered section which includes an exercise towards the end, followed by a section with questions and answers. Read more

Read by the author.Discover how Brooks Running Company CEO Jim Weber transformed a failing business into a billion-dollar brand in the ultracompetitive global running market.Running with Purpose is a leadership memoir with insights, inspirational stories, and tangible takeaways for current and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, and the 150+ million runners worldwide and those in the broader running community who continually invest in themselves.This leadership memoir starts with Jim Weber's seventh-grade dream to run a successful company that delivered something people passionately valued. Fast forward to 2001, Jim became the CEO of Brooks and, as the struggling brand's fourth CEO in two years, he faced strong headwinds. A lifelong competitor, Jim devised a one-page strategy that he believed would not only save the company but would also lay the foundation for Brooks to become a leading brand in the athletic, fitness, and outdoor categories. To succeed, he had to get his team to first believe it was possible and then employ the conviction, fortitude, and constancy of purpose to outperform larger brands. Brooks’s success was validated when Warren Buffett made it a standalone Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary in 2012. In Running with Purpose, you will find:Brooks’s bold strategy and unique brand positioning that fueled its move from the back of the pack to lead.The key to building a purpose-driven brand that is oriented around customer obsession, building trust, competing with heart, and having fun along the way.The six clear leadership lessons Jim has learned along his path and applies at Brooks to develop staff into authentic leaders.How Berkshire Hathaway's support and influence provided a tailwind for Brooks’s business and brand to surge.An inside look at the ups and downs of Jim's personal journey, which led to his conviction that life is too short not to enjoy what you do and the people by your side.Photos and graphics are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. Read more

A groundbreaking work of history and reportage that unveils the stranger-than-fiction world of multilevel marketing: a massive money-making scam and radical political conspiracy that has remade American society.Companies like Amway, Mary Kay, and Herbalife advertise the world’s greatest opportunity: the chance to be your own boss via an enigmatic business model called multilevel marketing, or MLM. They offer a world of pink Cadillacs, white-columned mansions, tropical vacations, and—most precious of all—financial freedom. If, that is, you’re willing to shell out for expensive products and recruit everyone you know to buy them, and if they recruit everyone they know, too, thus creating the “multiple levels” of MLM.Overwhelming evidence suggests that most people lose money in multilevel marketing, and that many MLM companies are pyramid schemes. Yet the industry’s origins, tied to right-wing ideologues like Ronald Reagan, have escaped public scrutiny. MLM has slithered in the wake of every economic crisis of the last century, from the Depression to the pandemic, ensnaring laid-off workers, stay-at-home moms, and teachers—anyone who has been left behind by rising inequality.In Little Bosses Everywhere, journalist Bridget Read tells the gripping story of multilevel marketing in full for the first time, winding from sunny postwar California, where a failed salesman started a vitamin business, through the devoutly religious suburbs of Michigan, where the industry built its political influence, to stadium-size conventions where today’s top sellers preach to die-hard recruits. MLM has enriched powerful people, like the DeVos and Van Andel families, Warren Buffett, and President Donald Trump, all while eroding public institutions and the social safety net, then profiting from the chaos. Along the way, Read delves into the stories of those devastated by the majority-female industry: a veteran in Florida searching for healing; a young mom in Texas struggling to feed her children; a waitress scraping by in Brooklyn. A wild trip down an endless rabbit hole of greed and exploitation, Little Bosses Everywhere exposes multilevel marketing as American capitalism’s stealthiest PR campaign, a cunning grift that has shaped nearly everything about how we live, and whose ultimate target is democracy itself. Read more

"A deeply curious and evenhanded report on our national appetites." --The New York TimesIn the tradition of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma, an extraordinary investigation into the human lives at the heart of the American grocery storeThe miracle of the supermarket has never been more apparent. Like the doctors and nurses who care for the sick, suddenly the men and women who stock our shelves and operate our warehouses are understood as 'essential' workers, providing a quality of life we all too easily take for granted. But the sad truth is that the grocery industry has been failing these workers for decades. In this page-turning expose, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on the highly secretive grocery industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and sharp, often laugh-out-loud prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation, asking what does it take to run a supermarket? How does our food get on the shelves? And who suffers for our increasing demands for convenience and efficiency? In this journey:We learn the secrets of Trader Joe's success from Trader Joe himselfDrive with truckers caught in a job they call "sharecropping on wheels"Break into industrial farms with activists to learn what it takes for a product to earn certification labels like "fair trade" and "free range"Follow entrepreneurs as they fight for shelf space, learning essential tips, tricks, and traps for any new food businessJourney with migrants to examine shocking forced labor practices through their eyesThe product of five years of research and hundreds of interviews across every level of the business, The Secret Life of Groceries is essential reading for those who want to understand our food system--delivering powerful social commentary on the inherently American quest for more and compassionate insight into the lives that provide it. Read more

Customizable Log Book 4 ColumnThis four column notebook, is a multipurpose logbook which can be adapted for many uses such as organizing office and home finances, inventory, book-keeping, studies, record keeping, etc.4 column log book perfect for small business, home and personal use.This four column notepad features;4 column - customizable to use as you wish120 pages8.5” x 11”Printed on premium quality 90gsm white paperDurable matte finish cover Read more

A hands-on field guide to consistently creating page-turning content that your audience loves. (And that delivers real results.) In the newly revised and updated edition of Everybody Writes, marketer and author Ann Handley improves on her Wall Street Journal bestselling book that’s helped hundreds of thousands become better, more confident writers. In this brand-new edition, she delivers all the practical, how-to advice and insight you need for the process and strategy of content creation, production, and publishing. This new edition also includes: All-new examples, tools, resourcesUpdated step-by-step writing frameworkAdded and expanded chapters that reflect the evolution of content marketing (and evolution of Ann’s thinking about what works today)The same witty and practical how-to approachHow to attract and retain customers with stellar online communicationHow to choose your words well, sparingly, and with honest empathy for your customersBest practices and ideas for crafting credible, trustworthy content “Things Marketers Write”: The fundamentals of 19 specific kinds of content that marketers like you writeInspiration. Confidence. Fun.In this book, you’ll discover: Content marketing has evolved. Yet writing matters more than ever. In this new edition of Everybody Writes, you’ll find the strategies, techniques, tips, and tools you’ll need to refine, upgrade, and (most of all) inspire your own best content marketing. Read more

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A powerful, wisdom-packed read—I wish I had it 28 years ago!"As soon as I received the book, I started reading—and just half an hour later, I said to myself: when was the last time I read something where every sentence had real meaning? Every line is important and true to real experience. I wish I had this book 28 years ago!Even now, I’m still learning from the author’s wisdom and experience. I truly hope this book ends up in the hands of many managers and luxury sales ambassadors.I personally love a small book filled with deep insight over a big one with only a few good takeaways. This one is full of messages worth remembering."— Meiloute MarquezLearn how to sell to the 1%—from a luxury insider with over 20 years at the top of the fashion game.If you’re in high-end retail, luxury fashion, or high-ticket sales, this book is your secret weapon. The Art of Luxury pulls back the curtain on how elite sellers close six-figure deals, build deep relationships with affluent clients, and turn one-time purchases into lifelong loyalty.Inside, you’ll discover:Proven techniques to build trust with ultra-high-net-worth buyersThe psychology of luxury—and why price isn’t the objection you think it isHow to close high-ticket sales without being “salesy”Powerful language, body cues, and presence that sell without discountsWhy exclusivity, scarcity, and service sell better than any product ever willWhether you’re on the showroom floor, in a private fitting, or hosting VIP clients, this book gives you the mindset, language, and strategy to elevate your sales game—and your income.This isn’t theory. It’s the same playbook I used to sell for Brioni, Prada, Dior, and more. Read more

In 1989, Kmart was the biggest discount store chain in America. It could be found almost anywhere, in small towns and big cities and mid-sized suburbs from coast to coast. By 2002, Kmart was bankrupt. The company had fallen into third place behind Wal-Mart and Target, which were less than one-tenth the size of Kmart twenty years before. How did Kmart grow to become one of the nation’s most dominant retailers, and then lose it all, in the span of just a few decades? Attention Kmart Shoppers has the full story, from the chain’s founding as an arm of the Kresge variety store company in 1962, all the way down to the five Kmart stores that are still in business today. Read more

A breakthrough solution is exposed when some unexpected events force Caroline and Paul, a married couple working for their family's retail business, to make a few small changes in the way things are done. A solution that propels the family's regional chain of stores into a very profitable, rapidly growing, international enterprise.If there is a hint of Jonah, from The Goal, reappearing in this novel, it is Henry, the soon-to-retire president and majority owner of the company who logically states that, "if you do not deal directly with the core problem, don't expect significant improvement."Eli Goldratt's Theory of Constraints is woven throughout this book but answers are not handed to you. The listener, along with the characters in the book, work through the process together to discover solutions. The elegant but simple solutions give the listener that sensation that followers love about Goldratt: "Ah-ha! Now I get it!" And that's when Goldratt says: "Isn't It Obvious?" Read more

Who first introduced Manolo Blahnik to Americans: Vogue, or a canny buyer at Bendel’s? Where under one roof can shoppers find Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, and Hermès? Here are the great retail palaces—from Harrods to Barneys to Galeries Lafayette—where shoppers spend their day in opulent settings, drifting from cosmetics to shoes, stopping for lunch, the hairdresser, and endless temptations along the way. With photographs and ephemera from all over the world, this lavish book goes beyond in-store extravaganzas to the history of these consumer institutions, the personalities behind them, their vast range of goods, unique architecture, advertising, and associated sociological trends. With perfumed air and chandeliers, department stores have lured millions for over a century with that enticing, dizzying sense that no matter how much you already have, there is always more.Praise for The World of Department Stores:“Since my visits as a child to La Opera Department Store in Santo Domingo, I have believed that the best department stores are merchants not of clothing or shoes or cosmetics but of dreams. Whitaker’s book is a remarkable around-the-world look at these dream factories. It is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the business of retailing and to shoppers everywhere.”—Oscar de la Renta “The World of Department Stores is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the foundations of the urban experience in the West and the department store as the ultimate expression of the needs of the rising middle class and its tastes.” ­—Leonard Lauder, Chairman Emeritus, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. “I have nothing but good memories about the many department stores that played an important part in my business, [and] I warmly welcome the publication of this wonderful and unique book on department stores throughout the world.” —Hubert de Givenchy "The birth of the department store in the late 19th century brought everything glamorous together under one roof—from inviting, intelligent architecture and design to the latest fashions. Jan Whitaker's The World of Department Stores looks back to the biggest and brightest shops— including the belle epoque splendor of Paris's Bon Marché, the block-long, palatial GUM in Moscow; and the always outrageous holiday windows at Barneys New York." –Elle Décor "In photos and art, this visual feast details the extraordinary history of the world's "great retail palaces" from the past century. With authoritative and informative text." -Sacramento Bee "Illustrated with photos of window displays, catalog covers and the Gilded Age architecture of institutions from Philadelphia’s long-gone Wanamaker’s to Paris’s still-strong La Samaritaine, The World of Department Stores makes a worthwhile gift for the history, sociology or shopping buff on your list. " -Washington Post Read more

The Wall Street Journal technology columnist reveals the fascinating story behind the misleadingly simple phrase shoppers take for granted - Arriving Today - in this eye-opening investigation into the new rules of online commerce, transportation, and supply chain management.We are at a tipping point in retail history. While consumers are profiting from the convenience of instant gratification, rapidly advancing technologies are transforming the way goods are transported and displacing workers in ways never before seen.In Arriving Today, Christopher Mims goes deep, far, and wide to uncover how a single product, from creation to delivery, weaves its way from a factory on the other side of the world to our doorstep. He analyzes the evolving technologies and management strategies necessary to keep the product moving to fulfill consumers’ demand for “arriving today” gratification. Mims reveals a world where the only thing moving faster than goods in an Amazon warehouse is the rate at which an entire industry is being gutted and rebuilt by innovation and mass shifts in human labor practices. He goes behind the scenes to uncover the paradoxes in this shift - into the world’s busiest port, the cabin of an 18-wheeler, and Amazon’s automated warehouses - to explore how the promise of “arriving today” is fulfilled through a balletic dance between humans and machines. The scope of such large-scale innovation and expended energy is equal-parts inspiring, enlightening, and horrifying. As he offers a glimpse of our future, Mims asks us to consider the system’s vulnerability and its resilience, and who shoulders the burden, as we hurtle toward a fully automated system - and what it will mean when we are there. Read more

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.The mall near Mat thew Newton's childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of the state's first enclosed shopping malls. Like all malls in their heyday, this one was a climate-controlled pleasuredome where strangers converged. It boasted waterfalls, fish ponds, an indoor ice skating rink larger than Rockefeller Center's, and a monolithic clock tower illuminated year-round beneath a canopy of interconnected skylights. It also became the backdrop for filmmaker George A. Romero's zombie opus Dawn of the Dead. Part memoir and part case study, Shopping Mall examines the modern mythology of the mall and shows that, more than a collection of stores, it is a place of curiosity, ritual, and fantasy.Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic. Read more

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Get social with the bestselling social media marketing bookNo person can ignore social media these days--and no business can afford to ignore it either. Our lives are mediated through the flicker of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram--and brands are increasingly interwoven with our online identities. Even for the 90% of marketers who interact with social media regularly, its pace and scale can be confusing to the point of distraction. Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies helps you take a step back, make sense of the noise, and get your brand voice heard over the babble--in the way you want it to be.These nine mini-books in one give you essential, straightforward, and friendly guidance on how to use the major social platforms to promote your business, engage your customers, and use feedback to make your product or service the best that it can be. From evaluating the right social mix and planning your strategy to the really fun stuff--like creating videos on Snapchat and TikTok, diving deep on a podcast, or looking pretty on Pinterest--you'll find everything you need to get your social ducks in a row and say the right things. And once the campaign is over, you can follow the guidance here to evaluate success and iterate on your approach, before getting right back out there for an even bigger second bite.Keep up with the latest changes on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and moreBlend your social side with your traditional marketing presenceBecome more engaging and metric your successGet to know your fans with user dataWherever you're coming from--social media strategist, site manager, marketer, or something else--social media is where your customers are. This book shows you how to be there, too. Read more

Modern-day markets do not arise spontaneously or evolve naturally. Rather they are crafted by individuals, firms, and most of all, by governments. Thus "marketcraft" represents a core function of government comparable to statecraft and requires considerable artistry to govern markets effectively. Just as real-world statecraft can be masterful or muddled, so it is with marketcraft. In Marketcraft, Steven Vogel builds his argument upon the recognition that all markets are crafted then systematically explores the implications for analysis and policy. In modern societies, there is no such thing as a free market. Markets are institutions, and contemporary markets are all heavily regulated. The "free market revolution" that began in the 1980s did not see a deregulation of markets, but rather a re-regulation. Vogel looks at a wide range of policy issues to support this concept, focusing in particular on the US and Japan. He examines how the US, the "freest" market economy, is actually among the most heavily regulated advanced economies, while Japan's effort to liberalize its economy counterintuitively expanded the government's role in practice. Marketcraft demonstrates that market institutions need government to function, and in increasingly complex economies, governance itself must feature equally complex policy tools if it is to meet the task. In our era-and despite what anti-government ideologues contend-governmental officials, regardless of party affiliation, should be trained in marketcraft just as much as in statecraft. Read more

Anyone who has waited in a Christmas line for the Walnut Room's Great Tree can attest that Chicago's loyalty to Marshall Field's is fierce.Dayton-Hudson even had to take out advertising around town to apologize for changing the Field's hallowed green bags. And with good reason--the store and those who ran it shaped the city's streets, subsidized its culture and heralded its progress. The resulting commercial empire dictated wholesale tradeterms in Calcutta and sponsored towns in North Carolina, but its essence was always Chicago. So when the Marshall Field name was retired in 2006 after the stores were purchased by Macy's, protest slogans like "Field's is Chicago" and "Field's: as Chicago as it gets" weren't just emotional hype. Many still hope that name will be resurrected like the city it helped support during the Great Fire and the Great Depression. Until then, fans of Marshall Field's can celebrate its history with this warm look back at the beloved institution. Read more

Made To Order: The Sheetz Story traces the fascinating history of Sheetz, Inc., a regional convenience retailer that battled the odds and cemented its name among the acclaimed ranks of America's most successful private companies. From its humble dairy store origins in Pennsylvania, Sheetz became a convenience-store giant, amassing hundreds of locations across six states, and along the way, combined numerous creative marketing campaigns with retail innovations to shape the Sheetz recipe for success. Made To Order: The Sheetz Story narrates how the company remade itself in the face of dramatically shifting demographics, bravely stood up for its customer base when confronted with a serious crisis, and emerged as a revered and much-beloved retail phenomenon. Read more

The old country stores along the back roads of rural Mississippi are the treasures that remain of a bygone era. Travel back to the Mississippi of yesteryear and hear of the deadly can of molasses that once caused a massacre in Carrollton, Mississippi, in the late 1800s. Find the church near Alston's General Store in Rodney with a Civil War cannonball lodged in its front facade. Or discover the haunts of Causeyville General Store among shelves and corners stocked with relics of the American past. These and other stores remembered here by local author June Davis Davidson were the cornerstones of their communities, and harken back to a time when the sweetest things in life were the smell of peanuts roasting and reaching into the penny candy jar. Read more