Retail Comic Strip

Retail comic strip was created by Norm Feuti and it run in newspapers from 2006 to 2020. Quite fast from the launch itself, the comic strip gained on popularity as people were finding it so relatable. That is especially true for all the people who have worked in retail for many years, I can include myself in here, as every single one of “Retail’s” strips were totally accurate. Norm Feuti has definitely got his finger on the true pulse of retail work and the people behind the cash registers. The customers portrayed are so genuine. They are that foolish sometimes and the reaction of the staff is also very realistic. We all have had days like these! So, I wondered how did Norm managed to get everything so right and after a little research I actually find out that he had a previous experience in retail himself.

Norm Feuti

The author and illustrator of Retail, the comic strip, was born on May 14, 1970 in the United States. Norm Feuti grew up in Pascoag, Rhode Island in a single-parent family, where he and his older sister were raised by their mother. It was the time of America’s first ‘Great Recession’ and as Feuti had said, it was not always easy for them. His mother worked in a screen windows factory and he used to draw, while he was still in high school, but did not apply to any art school, due to the fact that he was not very impressed by his own drawing potential at the time.

He later on became a resident of Plainville, Massachusetts and as such he had over 15 years of experience in retail management, so we can see where his inspiration for the comic strip came from. He apparently knew his stuff! He has worked at seven different stores and had experience selling pretty much everything, starting from arts and crafts supplies, to jewelry, to men’s footwear, to clothing, to gift ware and to even toys.

For the 15 years he had in the retail business, Norm Feuti had a vast experience on the subject and I am assuming that he could easily tap into his past memories and draw inspiration for the great comic strip he created, which I personally loved and kept following for big part of the 14-year run it had.

Feuti created a second strip, called Gil, that was made as a web comic on his own website. That was in 2008 and the story line involves an eight-year-old boy, whose name is Gil, and his single mother Cheryl, that is trying to make both ends meet in their low-income family. Every now and then Gil meets his dad, who tends to give him some very questionable advices. The strip also includes some secondary characters, like Gil’s trusted friend Shandra and his opposer Morgan. On January 2, 2012 Gil was launched in newspapers and distributed by King Features Syndicate.

In 2007, Retail comic strip became the driving force behind Norm Feuti’s book Pretending You Care: The Retail Employee Handbook, that is a must buy for every person in the retail business, currently or in the past. It is a parody guidebook that can definitely make your working days in retail go by way more easily and it can make you look at the absurd situations you encounter every day with a smile and laughter, and lessen your pain. If working in retail is part of your past, then this guidebook can also bring back memories of all the amusing encounters you had with all sort of funny people.

Retail’s Setting

The set of the strip is in the fictional department store, called “Grumbel’s”. That is a chain of department stores, that provides customers with a wide array of goods, as over the 14-year run of Retail, we have seen customers shopping for pretty much anything from garden equipment, electronics and clothing to household goods. The name Grumbel’s suggests the word “grumble”, but is apparently a parody of the actual American department store corporation, Gimbels, that operated for a century, from 1887 until 1987. The fictional store, however, was founded by the invented character of J.P. Grumbel and it must have been operating since at least the mid-1900s. In 2010 it was revealed that the fictional store is located somewhere in New England, as up until then the location was kept ambiguous. As per the story line goes, by January 2020, Grumbel’s filed for bankruptcy due to the ongoing decline of sales the store was facing under the inefficient senior executive management and the closure of many stores, and leading to the events at the end of the comic strip.

Cast

• Marla Garrison (née Masters), with first appearance on January 1, 2006
• Cooper Costello, with first appearance on January 1, 2006
• Val Costello (née Williams), with first appearance on January 1, 2006
• Stuart Suchet, with first appearance on January 1, 2006
• Lunker, with first appearance on April 11, 2007 (but first mentioned on April 9, 2007)
• Crystal, with first appearance on April 7, 2016 (early cameo) and May 13, 2017 (as regular)

Other Characters

• Alan Zimmerman
• Craig
• Courtney
• Keith Sanzen
• Josh Tobin
• Mrs. Masters
• Jerry Deco
• Connie
• Gary
• Arthur
• Brice Tanner
• Scott Garrison
• Warren
• Jasper Morley
• Zoe
• Spike
• Gus
• Amber
• Donnie
• Heather
• Marisa
• Bradley Fontaine
• Mina
• Greg