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We Were Merchants: The Sternberg Family and the Story of Goudchaux's and Maison Blanche Department Stores ReviewIf you don't know the answer to this question, by all means read this book. The title of the book says a lot -- "We Were Merchants", and speaks of understanding customers' needs and satisfying them in an extraordinary fashion, and making a handsome profit while doing it.
This book is a matter-of-fact telling of the history of a remarkable merchandising family, the Sternbergs of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and their stores Goudchaux's and later Maison Blanche. Emigres from persecution in Nazi Germany, they had a keen understanding of the public they served. I grew up in Louisiana, and my mother made at first only one or two trips a year to shop at Goudchaux's. As a young boy, I was taken along, rather as native bearers were taken along on safaris. Then as I grew old enough to drive and then go to college in Baton Rouge, the trips became more frequent but remained genuinely pleasant experiences.
One of the first things I discovered was the Sternbergs did not sit invisibly in their offices. One might be shopping in any department and be waited upon by Hans, Josef, or even their mother, Lea, if things were particularly busy. Each of them truly appeared to be "engaged" by interacting with their customers -- rich or poor. I believe one of the talents making them such formidable forces in retailing was their maintaining a constant relationship with their customers, which gave them insight unmatched by the competition. Another was department managers and sales people were expected to be knowledgeable both of their stock and their customers, and to be adept at skillfully matching each. Their staff seemed remarkably resistant to turnover, and it was not unusual to get to know and respect those you actually bought things from. As I grew to adulthood and entered my profession, this relationship extended to having the salesman who worked with me call me at home when he knew of was a sale about to take place ,or when a new suit in a style I needed was arriving. He knew my sizes, my tastes (and influenced them), and also knew what my wardrobe needs and my budget were.
The most unique thing about Goudchauz's was the "interest-free" charge accounts, which Hans explains in great detail. It made financial and marketing sense at the time.
Contrast this to the average "department store" or general shopping experience in the contemporary mall, and one sees what makes "internet shopping" so attractive.
But back to the book . . . the book is as I remember Hans himself -- succinct, efficient, and utterly without nonsense. While this book appeals to the nostalgic, I would also recommend it to anyone studying marketing, merchandising, popular culture, or the decline of Western Civilization.
The remarkably objective viewpoint of this book makes for a very valuable work to reflect upon what makes for excellence in our lives, and whether our culture has lost an appreciation of excellence. Long before I knew about Covey and his principles, I knew the Sternbergs as they exemplified many of those traits.
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