The Five Laws of Retail

Standing at the intersection of history, business, and anthropology, this is the definitive guidebook for succeeding and prospering in any retail enterprise.

As a senior retail executive for some of the best-known and most successful retail brands in the U.S. and abroad, author George Troy understands today’s volatile retail landscape. In this time of tremendous challenge and realignment within the retail industry, retail executives and countless others are searching for answers and direction. Troy defines the underlying principles that have, for millennia, governed everything we retail—not just clothing and books, but also politics, religion, art, and other “products” and services. He explains how retailing really works and the rules for long-term success.

For anyone wanting to be at the top of the retail food chain, The Five Laws of Retail brings together To Sell Is Human with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to give you the tools for success in today’s fast-changing world.

After all, we are all selling something.

George Troy is a widely-read blogger, author, and consultant focused on retail business communities, including online and brick-and-mortar stores. He has enjoyed decades of real-life experience as a senior executive for some of the best-known and most successful retail companies in the U.S. and globally. A specialist in apparel, footwear, sporting goods, cookware, and home furnishings, Troy has led the retail divisions of Deckers Outdoor (UGG Boots) and outlet divisions of Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

When he joined UGG Australia to create the brand’s retail channel, Troy directed all aspects of the business (merchandising, marketing, operations, real estate, store construction, and management), taking retail sales from $0 to $400 million in the U.S., Europe, and Asia in just eight years. Similarly, Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn brought Troy in to create and build the outlet channels for those brands. Here, too, he directed all aspects of store operations, including HR, marketing, real estate and construction, and merchandising.

Troy is currently a consultant with The Grayson Company based in New York, which offers a full range of consulting services to retail, e-commerce, wholesale, and omnichannel businesses as well as investment firms focused on the consumer sector. The Grayson Company’s CEO Kevin Mullaney says of Troy, “He has extraordinary expertise in field management, site selection, and lease negotiation, and equal capabilities in merchandising, particularly product development and assortment planning.”

Troy serves on the boards of directors of two nonprofit organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. When not writing about the retail world, Troy spends his time in garden-to-table cooking and also tends a small Pinot Noir vineyard. An avid hiker, he recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro with his family. He and his dog Farley are currently enrolled in the Canine Circus School of Emeryville learning to perform amazing dog tricks.

Troy earned a BA with honors from the University of California, Berkeley in Anthropology. He also holds a California State Teaching Credential.