about us
Retail Masterminds was founded by two of the furniture industries most well-known and respected individuals, Mike Root and Bill Napier
Both Mike and Bill have an unwavering passion for the industry and started this endeavor with the singular goal to help retailers, manufacturers, and sales representatives in this industry thrive with sales and marketing initiatives to help them compete and ultimately thrive in the chaotic on-line environment with their marketing strategies and tactics.
Both Mike and Bill have an unwavering passion for the industry and started this endeavor with the singular goal to help retailers, manufacturers, and sales representatives in this industry thrive with sales and marketing initiatives to help them compete and ultimately thrive in the chaotic on-line environment with their marketing strategies and tactics.
about mike
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I am a third-generation furniture guy who has peddled furniture as a retailer, a rental store owner, a wholesale / distributor, and a factory representative for upholstery and case goods. I have the best job in the world working with factories I like and selling to retailer customers I like. Since 1964, Furniture Sales of Mid-America has built our solid reputation on selling value products to top retailers in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain Regions. I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a business degree in Accounting, and worked as a CPA before entering the furniture business. My furniture career has included several awards including the Small Business Administration’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce honor as one of the Top 25 Fastest Growing businesses in the state for three years in a row. |
We also have been recognized by numerous national furniture factories for sales excellence including double digit Salesman of the Year awards. I am currently an advisor to the Executive Committee of the International Home Furnishings Representative’s Association (IHFRA) and served as a past president.
I write an online column for the national trade paper 'Furniture Today' called 'From a Rep’s Perspective'. This column can be found at www.FurnitureTodayBlog.com and a link is on the home page of this website. I also write a series for the national furniture magazine “Furniture World” called New Media Marketing that shares multiple innovative marketing strategies retailers can use to grow their business in any economy. Copies of some of those articles can be found at http://mikeroot.com/root-note-resources.
I write an online column for the national trade paper 'Furniture Today' called 'From a Rep’s Perspective'. This column can be found at www.FurnitureTodayBlog.com and a link is on the home page of this website. I also write a series for the national furniture magazine “Furniture World” called New Media Marketing that shares multiple innovative marketing strategies retailers can use to grow their business in any economy. Copies of some of those articles can be found at http://mikeroot.com/root-note-resources.
About Bill
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Bill has been in the Marketing Industry for over 35 years.
Bill has been the Chief Marketing Officer of several small, medium and large companies throughout his career. Many have labeled Bill Napier as being a “ Serial Disrupter” in the retail and home furnishings industry a moniker he loves! In the 90’s, Bill’s marketing agency PMA Network (Promotional Marketing Associates, Inc.), with offices in Minneapolis and Chicago, launched many consumer brands, as well as being a strategic consultant for The Times Square Millennium celebration. He was hired by Ashley Furniture in 2000 as their Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and was blessed to be part of their astronomic growth from $800MM – $2.7BN over his 5-year tenure. |
He has also worked with two other furniture brands as CMO. He has been an industry consultant since 2007 and with his company Napier Marketing Group has developed and managed some of the largest promotions ever done in the industry.
Bill has developed and maintains the largest aggregated marketing informational website for retailers and brands: www.social4retail.com.
Bill is also focused on how technology can help brick and mortar retailers compete with the huge e-commerce retailers. He believes technology, properly implemented, can level the playing field because over 80% of consumers would prefer to shop and buy local
Bill is also a featured writer and speaker in the retail industry. You may have read his "RETAIL RANTS" in many industry magazines, including SMB RETAIL Technology News, Furniture Today, Furniture World Magazine, RetailerNOW and his Blog on www.social4retail.com.
His vast understanding of the issues retailers and brands face to compete in the digital arena, coupled with his humorous interpretation of his knowledge of trends, facts and solutions for helping companies compete, makes for an engaging and informative session for every brand or retailer that attends his sessions.
His passion is to help retail brands & brick mortar retailers grow their business by creating, guiding and deploying successful marketing B2B/B2C solutions integrating traditional marketing with the web/social media.
Bill has developed and maintains the largest aggregated marketing informational website for retailers and brands: www.social4retail.com.
Bill is also focused on how technology can help brick and mortar retailers compete with the huge e-commerce retailers. He believes technology, properly implemented, can level the playing field because over 80% of consumers would prefer to shop and buy local
Bill is also a featured writer and speaker in the retail industry. You may have read his "RETAIL RANTS" in many industry magazines, including SMB RETAIL Technology News, Furniture Today, Furniture World Magazine, RetailerNOW and his Blog on www.social4retail.com.
His vast understanding of the issues retailers and brands face to compete in the digital arena, coupled with his humorous interpretation of his knowledge of trends, facts and solutions for helping companies compete, makes for an engaging and informative session for every brand or retailer that attends his sessions.
His passion is to help retail brands & brick mortar retailers grow their business by creating, guiding and deploying successful marketing B2B/B2C solutions integrating traditional marketing with the web/social media.
your retail masterminds
retail mastermind brain-trust faculty
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Their creativity and marketing savvy helped spark our moribound company out of a culture of mediocrity, doubling our revenue in three years and growing our profit margins even more
One of the most forward thinking operations I know. They are always 3 steps ahead of the rest of the pack. Just talking with them you will learn something new
They helped transform our company from a commodity based business that printed brochures and folders into a point-of-sale promotionally driven "solutions" company.
We all learn more from our peers and real world experience than we ever hoped to learn in school. Most will agree, watching and learning from your fellow team members is a good source of information, but an even better source is to follow and learn from industry leaders. Following and studying the work of people with real world experience and a track record for success is the secret to becoming better in your position. Bill Napier is one of those people. they are perhaps the top marketing gurus in the industry. Even many that think of themselves as experts, can't hold a candle to them. If you want to improve your marketing effort in your company, read the volumes of information that this team has published, or better yet, pick up the phone and setup an appointment.
.Very creative people that dug deep to understand my company's core strengths and value add propositions and developed an effective marketing strategy that grew both our sales revenues and brand awareness by 40% six months after they launched our new sales and marketing initiatives
Great people to engage with, very creative, and wonderful "thinkers". They have the knowledge & vision of the industry in general and is a SME in their own right with loads of experience!
They'd be an asset to any team, as an insider or remaining on the outside – you cannot choose to ignore them cause they will make sure that the “water dripping on a stone will defintely make their mark where you cannot miss it”
Visionaries in the marketing field bringing innovation and relevance. Always maintaining a strong eye on the bottom line.
