Opening remarks

Abstract

The way things have turned out, most of the words in this book are mine; the ideas, though, are largely a joint effort. They come from the discussions Dan Murphy and I have been having for several years now about the art and science of retail. It’s difficult to say who came up with what because we’ve talked most of it backwards and forwards so often. While I’ve been locked away slaving over a word processor putting the book together, Dan has been running a huge retail project as an independent consultant. While I’ve been rounding out the theory for the book, he’s continued to explore new ideas in a live business and to discover what works in practice. As well as developing the ideas and contributing an introductory chapter for the book, Dan’s also lent a hand with the rough drafts of my chapters. If a juggernaut of a consulting project and the arrival of twin baby girls hadn’t coincided with our publishing deadline, you’d probably be reading his words now.