Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Obarski.
Anne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was always fascinated with department stores when I was a kid growing up in Cleveland, Ohio. The adventure of going downtown and seeing the classic big buildings with magical feeling experiences inside was always mesmerizing. Beautiful merchandising, sparkling chandeliers, gleaming floors and shiny escalators that took you from floor to floor for more wonders. Women employees, who looked chic in their black attire, would go out of their way to make you feel you were the only one in the store. And Christmas?!!! Oh, the windows at Christmas in the 3 major department stores in town were a sight to behold. Talk about the magic of Christmas!!
The bar was set.
In college I was a Fashion Merchandising/ marketing major and my goal was to work in one of those magical department stores. My dream came true right after college and within 2 years of working for one of the largest department store chains in the country I reached the status of “buyer of junior sportswear”! The following years were busy with buying trips to NYC every month and then twice a year to California and the highlight was a buying trip to Hong Kong to work with manufacturers to design sportswear items specifically for our chain of stores. The job was challenging, exhausting and rewarding in so many ways. After 4 years, stress took its toll and I found that being a newlywed, to another retail executive, in the same store, required me to quit my job.
With lots of knowledge of corporate retail culture and a need for a new job, I found myself taking a job as a college instructor at a two-year college in Ohio in their Fashion Marketing division! Talk about another scary challenge. I had no education background but in this small college that wasn’t important. What was important was that I was young and smart and had “hands-on” real world experience to share with wide-eyed students that no amount of “book-learning” could teach them.
Those 12 years of teaching where the best years of my life in many ways. I loved giving back what I learned while working in the corporate world and I loved speaking in front of students. Those two things would pave the way for what was to come.
Teaching was not high paying. I did it for the love of teaching. Early on in my teaching career, a local company contacted the dean of my department asking if they had a professor who could teach them some basic retail math skills. One day I got called into my deans office and he informed me that he wanted me to talk to this company and see how I could help. Yikes, another challenge I knew nothing about. This time the title was consultant. What did I know, in my twenties that I could help this big store with? More than I gave myself credit for.
I worked with their buyers and taught them things that I thought every retailer knew. They didn’t, and I looked like a hero, a teacher, a friend. When the company asked me what the name of my business was for the paycheck I almost choked. I didn’t have a business, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I gulped and said, “Merchandise Concepts” and that’s what they wrote on the paycheck. Now what do I do? Well, I researched fictious names for businesses and on March 17, 1984, Merchandise Concepts became a real business. Where did I get the name? Funny, it was the name of a class I was teaching at that small college!
From that time on, I continued to teach and consult with retailers on buying and merchandising skills. My heart still loved “speaking” in front of students and watched learning happen.
During those years I found a local association for people who wanted to speak professionally. It is the National Speakers Association and they had a local chapter in Pittsburgh, PA where I was living and teaching at the time. I attended one meeting and I was hooked. Their goal is to help speakers hone their skills and build a business. I was a long-time member of that association since 1997 and built my business speaking to retail and business associations and large and small retail operations inside and out of the US.
I found that just understanding retail and retail operations doesn’t guarantee a great business. Business is about relationships. Relationships are built on great communication skills. Those people who have those skills can offer the best customer service. I found that customer service isn’t easy to teach. It has to be “felt” and delivered with care.
Merchandise Concepts is over 40 years old. I have spoken to over a million people in the US and Canada and many of the Caribbean islands on the power of great customer service. My tag line is, “Be Contagious, on Purpose”…and that is true today as it has ever been. My goal as a company has always been to “Work with organizations who want to offer memorable customer service, brand recognition and amazing experiences at every single touchpoint”.
Customer service is more than a department-it’s a mindset that drives loyalty and growth. I love helping people see how small moments-like one smile, one follow-up or one “we’ll make it right” – can completely transform a business.
For over 40 years, my business has allowed me to speak to so many different types of businesses who want to do the same and frankly, I don’t have a plan to stop that contagiousness, anytime soon.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
2008-2009 Market crash – 2020 COVID- moving my business 4 times and always being a “single-shingle” entrepreneur
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Anne Obarski is a seasoned customer experience strategist, speaker, and consultant who believes every interaction tells your brand story. Known for her high-energy keynotes and practical insights, Anne challenges audiences to see customer service not as a department—but as a mindset that drives loyalty, reputation, and revenue.
As founder of Merchandise Concepts, Anne has spent years studying what truly creates memorable customer moments. Through her Retail Snoops™ research program—spanning thousands of mystery shops nationwide—she’s uncovered what separates businesses that simply serve customers from those that wow them.
Today, Anne partners with organizations to elevate their service culture through customized sales training programs and on-site consulting designed to align teams, sharpen communication, and deliver measurable results. Her programs blend research, real-world observation, and humor to help teams turn ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.
Recognized twice as ReThink Retail’s Top Retail Expert (2024 and 2025) , sponsored by Microsoft, and a long-standing member of the National Speakers Association, Anne has inspired hundreds of audiences to build brands people don’t just buy from—but believe in.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have had many “mentors” over my career and I find that so helpful when you are an entrepreneur. It is a lonely road. Having someone to bounce ideas off of is critical. I also believe in having a “mastermind” group. Finding a group of 4-6 people that you meet with on a monthly basis and you share the good and the bad and the ideas and failures is invaluable.
Networking groups are fine but can be time consuming. Always ask what can I gain from being in this group and what can “I” give back if I stay in this group. Much of networking creatively is based on the “type” of business you have. Some businesses require more interaction with more potential clients.
Nothing is better than word of mouth marketing from successful clients and customers.
Pricing:
- Retail Sales and Service Coaching
- Inside Sales Training
- Keynote and Breakout sessions for conferences
- call for pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.merchandiseconcepts.com
- LinkedIn: https://Linkedin.com/in/anneobarski
