George Whalin TOPICS: Retail Management Merchandising Competition/Trends Marketing Hiring Customer Service FEE CATEGORY:* 5.0k to 10.0k TRAVELS FROM: California Video Profile Testimonials/Client List Request This Speaker

George Whalin: Profile

George Whalin's experience in retail is extensive and first hand. He started his career on the sales floor and worked his way up. In the 1960s, he opened and managed the original Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. He sold instruments to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jackson Five, Grateful Dead, and many more well-known and not-so-well-known musicians all trying to make it big. He has some very interesting stories to tell. After a while he set out on his own opening Whalin's Sound City with stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco. After selling the business he became the senior training manager for a 125-store consumer electronics chain.

In 1987, George founded Retail Management Consultants, which now provides business-building services to retail companies and industry suppliers all across North America. He has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of companies in every area of retailing from single-store merchants to national chains. His clients also include trade associations; buying groups; franchise organizations; and consumer products manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers.

His book, Retail Success! Increase Sales, Maximize Profits, and Wow Your Customers in the Most Competitive Marketplace in History, has sold thousands of copies and is used as supplemental reading in several university retailing courses. He writes the monthly Retail Management E-Letter, an online newsletter read by subscribers all around the world. As a highly respected retail expert, George is regularly quoted in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and numerous trade magazines as well as newspapers across the country. He's often interviewed on radio and TV newscasts about retail matters and is a columnist for several trade publications.

George is a highly sought after retail speaker, each year delivering speeches and seminars for retail companies, associations, and consumer products manufacturers and suppliers all across North America as well as internationally. George doesn't do "off-the-shelf" presentations; instead, every program is tailored to the industry segment and can be totally customized to fit your organization's goals and objectives.

His presentations are exciting, entertaining, humorous, and motivational. But his top priority every time he speaks is to give audiences innovative ideas as well as practical, hard-hitting strategies and no-nonsense tools they can put to use right away to build their businesses, sell more merchandise, and better serve today's savvy consumers.

George considers himself a "student" of retail. One of his favorite pastimes is visiting stores and wherever he goes in his travels he takes time to chat with owners, managers, and sales associates. This gives him a unique perspective that he passes along to his audiences and readers. George has a passion for retail and everything he does from consulting to speaking to writing reflects that passion.

* Please note that while this speaker's specific fee falls within the range posted at the top of this page (for Continental U.S. based events), fees are subject to change without notice. Also note that most celebrity keynotes begin in the $25,000 and up range (most list "Contact for Fee Schedule"). For current fee information or international event fees, please contact your Speakers Platform representative.