A formidable strategic tool any business can use to become and remain competitive in the shadow of retail giants.

Focusing on the specific requirements of small and medium retailers, this resourceful guide is packed with practical insight and covers the gamut of retail issues, emphasising relationship management, customer service, in-store merchandise analysis, and special promotion opportunities for smaller retailers.

Coping with Retail Giants critically analyzes the modern retail market and identifies how businesses gain the competitive edge over the major retailers that currently control the market. Dr. Samli argues that as society advances economically, consumers will seek better values generated by the retailing sector.

Written by an economist who has been tracking the impact of superstores on small businesses for five years. Stone has conducted more than 200 seminars on his research for community groups and trade associations in 46 states during the last three years. In this superlative guide, he offers practical advice on how small retailers can survive and thrive in the age of giant discount stores. Provides strategies for small businesses to compete effectively by improving four major areas—merchandising, marketing, customer service and customer relations.

The recent global financial crisis has intensified concerns over how nations—both developed and developing — can revitalize economic growth and ensure opportunity for prosperity to all citizens. Many analysts and policymakers alike are looking to new business creation and the promotion of entrepreneurial practices as a panacea, or at least as a partial solution. A. Coskun Samli has argued in his two most recent books that the current model of globalization tends to marginalize the poor and that developing countries must rely on local business development, rather than exogenous forces, such as aid, loans, and trade, to catalyze growth. This third book in his trilogy argues that a "bottom-up" approach is necessary for developing countries to participate in globalization—but is not sufficient. He proposes that the economic goals of a country, a region, or a company are fulfilled first and foremost by a properly designed and maintained infrastructure, encompassing both physical elements, such as transportation and communication systems, and qualitative elements, such as functioning educational, legal, and governing institutions. In Infrastructuring, Samli analyzes the experiences of a variety of countries, including China, India, Ireland, and South Africa, to highlight the role that infrastructure plays in economic development, and considers its implications for such timely issues as new business creation, productivity, and supply chain logistics. Moreover, he outlines practical approaches to infrastructure management and policy oversight.

Hungry for change? Put the power of food co-ops on your plate and grow your local food economy. Food has become ground-zero in our efforts to increase awareness of how our choices impact the world. Yet while we have begun to transform our communities and dinner plates, the most authoritative strand of the food web has received surprisingly little attention: the grocery store—the epicenter of our food-gathering ritual. Through penetrating analysis and inspiring stories and examples of American and Canadian food co-ops, Grocery Story makes a compelling case for the transformation of the grocery store aisles as the emerging frontier in the local and good food movements. Author Jon Steinman: Deconstructs the food retail sector and the shadows cast by corporate giants Makes the case for food co-ops as an alternative Shows how co-ops spur the creation of local food-based economies and enhance low-income food access. Grocery Story is for everyone who eats. Whether you strive to eat more local and sustainable food, or are in support of community economic development, Grocery Story will leave you hungry to join the food co-op movement in your own community.

Two top specialists in profitable growth and innovative customer-supplier relationships show companies of all sizes how to compete with the tech giants—by choosing and providing peerless value to the right customers for long-term success. Every year, managers at companies large and small are finding it harder to compete with the likes of Google and Amazon, who are muscling into their businesses, stealing their customers, and cornering every conceivable market and service. There is, however, a way for companies to survive—and win—in this era of digital behemoths. Choose Your Customer is a powerful, consumer-targeted guide that can help managers level the playing field against their biggest competitors. Written by Jonathan Byrnes, the legendary MIT-based expert on profits, pricing, and strategy, and John Wass, a key member of the team that made Staples a major national brand, Choose Your Customer shows managers how to: Identify the customers who are the most profitable—and focus on them. Provide services and experiences that can’t be replicated by the tech giants, no matter how much data they have, or how much automation they use. Support your chosen customers’ diverse and rapidly evolving needs to accelerate profitability and growth. These customer-driven strategies enable leaders to build a uniquely targeted business that the digital giants just can’t match. From unbeatable customer service to superior pricing and product selection, Choose Your Customer provides detailed and actionable advice on how to compete successfully with the big guys and how to increase profits as a result.