CaliforniaApparelNews.net

George Whalin

George Whalin was a California retail classic.

He passed away Jan. 10 due to complications from cancer. He was 68 and he kept working almost to the end; writing on retail, advising with his Carlsbad, Calif.-company Retail Management Consultants, and talking to reporters like me.

I first interviewed him in 2004, and my jaw dropped when he told me a bit about his storied past. He managed Guitar Center on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He remembered selling guitars and equipment to some of the greatest bands and musicians of the time, including Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Jackson 5, George Harrison, and Crosby Stills & Nash.

His relationship with the Dead went back even further. As a teenager, he booked bands for a club tucked in a Lake Tahoe bowling alley. Frequently playing the dive were the Dead and Janis Joplin, well before they were playing stadiums. Back then, George never paid these influential rockers more than $500, said his wife Terri Pilot. Talk about a great deal.

After years of working as a retailer, he put his knowledge to use by writing and consulting about retail. He started Retail Management Consultants in 1987. In 2009, Portfolio a division of publishing company Penguin Group, released his book Retail Superstars: Inside the Best 25 Independent Stores In America.

In this book, he stressed independent retailers could thrive in a tough economy. He pointed out that retail success depended on one thing; offering unique product. “If you can’t position yourself to be unique and different, there’s no reason for customers to visit, “he told me in a 2009 interview. “If you have a special, unique store, if you sell merchandise different from everyone else, a community will grow around (the store.)”

George is survived by his wife Terri, his brothers John and Norman Whalin, as well as godchildren Sam, and Kayley Wascom. You’ll be missed George.
 

Like what you just read? Click here to Subscribe and Save!