Bob Phibbs

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor, has helped hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses in every major industry, including hospitality, manufacturing, service, restaurant and retail. He and his work have been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In addition, Phibbs provides business makeovers for The Los Angeles Times.

Phibbs owns a publishing firm and has started two successful businesses. In addition, his years as a conductor have helped give him insight into building teams.

Frequently quoted on matters relating to how independent retailers can succeed, Phibbs has creatively helped businesses succeed when their customer base has been challenged. His presentations are designed to challenge business owners to look in the mirror to find a way to compete.

One of Phibbs' most publicized successes was his association with an independent coffee house where sales had slipped for years after Starbucks opened ten blocks away. When a second Starbucks opened just seventy-five feet from the store, the Retail Doctor was brought in to overhaul the operation. Sales rose a dramatic 50 percent over that record year and an additional 40 percent the following year. Since then he has been a partner in growing the Hunter Douglas elite Gallery dealers program across the US.

Having been in retail since he was 16 years old, Bob been a speaker to such diverse organizations as the Hobby Industry Association, Myriad Software, True Value Hardware, Aquatech Pool Builders, the National Retail Federation, and the Specialty Coffee Association. The nation's second largest library system hired him to teach them how to merchandise their 42 libraries. His award-winning book, You Can Compete is the backbone of Do-It-Best hardware's How-to-Beat-the-Big-Box kit for their 4400 stores.