Retail is a comic strip which was created by Norm Feuti, and which debuted on January 1, 2006. If you're not familiar with Retail, you're not alone. I hadn't heard of Retail until this past July when I came across it by happenstance. It is easily the best comic strip I had never heard of; a hidden gem which everybody who's ever worked in retail can relate to, and should be reading.
Like I previously stated, I discovered Retail completely by happenstance. I had just quit the retail job I had been working for nearly 8 years, and was treating myself to a mini vacation visiting my grandfather. One day, as we were out to lunch and waiting for our food, I noticed a newspaper laying on a table and opened to the comic section; I decided to read it as we waited, and that's the day I discovered Retail. It was the July 23, 2014 strip, and, having spent nearly 8 years working retail, I knew the comical confusion of the strip far too well. I wrote down the name of the comic strip in my phone's notepad, because I wanted to remember the strip for later so I could find out more about it.
Since my initial discovery of Retail, I have since found it's official website - retailcomic.com. I decided to start from the beginning of the strips creation (the logical thing to do), and have since read up to around July 2008. I still have 6+ years of the comic to get caught up on, but it's definitely been worth the time reading. Retail is set in Grumbel's, a fictional big chain department store, with everyday interactions that anybody who has ever worked in retail can relate to. From what I've read so far, the story revolves around 4 main characters -Marla, Stuart, Val, and Cooper - and a handful of secondary characters. There's also a bunch of recurring secondary characters, such as Courtney, Lunker, and Jerry.
Marla is the store Assistant Manager; although she ends up doing not only her own work, but most of the work of the store manager as well. She has been working retail for quite a while, and although it seems like there's still a love for doing what she does buried deep inside her, Marla has become cynical thanks to years of bad customers, as well as policies put in place by home office (the higher ups) which are counter productive to being able to get proper work done at store level.
Stuart is the store manager of Grumbel's - although he passes off as much work of his as he can to Marla. While Marla is a cynic who is constantly questioning the decisions made by home office, Stuart gladly and willingly goes along with any changes that are made, quite often trying to convince Marla that home office knows what it's doing. Stuart, although a complete company man, seems to also be well meaning; he doesn't go out of his way to make his employees lives miserable (except occasionally Cooper's).
Val is a longtime sales associate of Grumbel's, and Marla's best friend. When she's not dealing with customers, Val can often be found lending a sympathetic ear to Marla as she vents her rage about customers/Stuart/home office/etc. Val tends to go with the flow and seems happy to be a sales associate, having indicated on a few occasions that she has no interest in moving up to a management position.
Cooper is the many layered onion of Retail. Cooper is the character who I can most identify with. He has a love/hate relationship with Grumbel's; he loves his coworkers and at times seems to love his job, but he hates the politics involved with the company - such as not being able to work more than 35 hours a week because then the company would have to give him medical benefits. Cooper also HATES interacting with customers, often talking down to them in a condescending manner when they ask him simplistic and stupid questions. Cooper works in the stock room, and on the floor putting out and setting up merchandise. When shipments slow down (like after Christmas), Cooper will put his hatred of customers aside and work in the shoe department, that way he still gets his normal hours instead of having them cut back. When Cooper finds down time - which is usually often - he can be found working on his blog, stacking boxes in unusual and artistic ways, or relaxing at his secret hiding spot (Cooper's Lounge) up on the roof.
Of course, as I mentioned, there's also quite a few secondary characters. I won't go through them all, but here's a couple of them.
Jerry - Grumbel's District Manager (Stuart's boss). Jerry is an ass. While he gets along with Stuart, he and Marla (who he calls Darla) have a mutual dislike for each other.
Courtney - Sales associate. Anybody who's worked retail knows a Courtney; somebody who really doesn't care about the job, she's just there for the pay cheque. Courtney is often late, calling in sick, and cancelling shifts. When Courtney is at work, she's frequently rude to the customers, and makes it clear that she'd rather be anywhere else.
Lunker - Assistant stock room attendant. Lunker was brought in to help Cooper in the stock room during busy parts of the year. Although slow, Lunker is a well meaning and lovable guy who Cooper gets along with very well. Lunker is big and strong, and Cooper usually gets him to do most of the heavy lifting.
Scott - Marla's boyfriend. Scott also works in the same mall as Marla, as a bartender at Dave's Carousing Cantina. Although I have done a bit of research into the history of the comic strip and I know what eventually happens to Marla and Scott, because I've only read up to a certain point in their storyline, I'm still referring to Scott as Marla's boyfriend.
I don't know much about the cartoonist, Mr. Feuti, but I do know - having worked a lot of retail myself - that he must have had a lot of experience in retail stores. Retail is a humorous, and quite often very accurate look at what it's like to work in a retail environment. I look forward to continuing my journey in reading this comic strip, and I cannot recommend it enough to others. If you're not already reading Retail, you should really start; it's quite possibly the best comic strip that you're not reading.
retailcomic.com
Val is a longtime sales associate of Grumbel's, and Marla's best friend. When she's not dealing with customers, Val can often be found lending a sympathetic ear to Marla as she vents her rage about customers/Stuart/home office/etc. Val tends to go with the flow and seems happy to be a sales associate, having indicated on a few occasions that she has no interest in moving up to a management position.
Cooper is the many layered onion of Retail. Cooper is the character who I can most identify with. He has a love/hate relationship with Grumbel's; he loves his coworkers and at times seems to love his job, but he hates the politics involved with the company - such as not being able to work more than 35 hours a week because then the company would have to give him medical benefits. Cooper also HATES interacting with customers, often talking down to them in a condescending manner when they ask him simplistic and stupid questions. Cooper works in the stock room, and on the floor putting out and setting up merchandise. When shipments slow down (like after Christmas), Cooper will put his hatred of customers aside and work in the shoe department, that way he still gets his normal hours instead of having them cut back. When Cooper finds down time - which is usually often - he can be found working on his blog, stacking boxes in unusual and artistic ways, or relaxing at his secret hiding spot (Cooper's Lounge) up on the roof.
Of course, as I mentioned, there's also quite a few secondary characters. I won't go through them all, but here's a couple of them.
Jerry - Grumbel's District Manager (Stuart's boss). Jerry is an ass. While he gets along with Stuart, he and Marla (who he calls Darla) have a mutual dislike for each other.
Courtney - Sales associate. Anybody who's worked retail knows a Courtney; somebody who really doesn't care about the job, she's just there for the pay cheque. Courtney is often late, calling in sick, and cancelling shifts. When Courtney is at work, she's frequently rude to the customers, and makes it clear that she'd rather be anywhere else.
Lunker - Assistant stock room attendant. Lunker was brought in to help Cooper in the stock room during busy parts of the year. Although slow, Lunker is a well meaning and lovable guy who Cooper gets along with very well. Lunker is big and strong, and Cooper usually gets him to do most of the heavy lifting.
Scott - Marla's boyfriend. Scott also works in the same mall as Marla, as a bartender at Dave's Carousing Cantina. Although I have done a bit of research into the history of the comic strip and I know what eventually happens to Marla and Scott, because I've only read up to a certain point in their storyline, I'm still referring to Scott as Marla's boyfriend.
I don't know much about the cartoonist, Mr. Feuti, but I do know - having worked a lot of retail myself - that he must have had a lot of experience in retail stores. Retail is a humorous, and quite often very accurate look at what it's like to work in a retail environment. I look forward to continuing my journey in reading this comic strip, and I cannot recommend it enough to others. If you're not already reading Retail, you should really start; it's quite possibly the best comic strip that you're not reading.
retailcomic.com
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