I had a desire to create a website that focused on Items Dog Lovers would enjoy. Doggy Daddy was born. My goal is to have as many different breeds as possible represented on this site.

Hi,

My name is Mike Normart. I have been in retail since 1980. I managed a bunch of shoe stores such as Naturalizer, Kushins, Joyce Selby, Koby's as a store manager up until 1989. I interviewed at Nordstrom and started out as a salesperson in the Salon Shoes department working downtown San Francisco. I worked for two amazing people who taught me the Nordstrom ropes, Martha and Michael. From there I went to open the Sacramento Arden Fair Store and was mentored by two great people Rob and Gail. I worked my way up to a Lead Buyer position and decided I needed a change after 11 years. 

I worked in a few Target stores as an Executive Team Leader which was basically an Asst. Store Manager. I was mentored here by a wonderful man named George. He had an amazing personality and everyone loved him. He definitely was the gold standard for employee retention. I transferred to another store and the next manager was not a George lol. I did learn alot about logistics though so it was a learning lesson.

Right about this time Zappos called on me. They started their online presence in 1999 so it was only a few years old. I started as one of 6 buyers at the time. Through my relationships I built over the years, I had great success in bringing on new brands to the site. People trusted me and I didn't want to disappoint. Retail is a relationship business and customer service is so important. I helped build the merchandising area to a retail powerhouse along with many other great minds I had the privilege to work with. It was quite a ride. 

I helped start a private label division and was the Director for many different areas of the company. My old boss called me the "Fixer". Get Mike to fix it. I also put together a progression plan for over 100 merchants. The reason I'm talking about all this stuff is because retail has many different legs to the business and each adventure brings knowledge and wisdom to the next chapter.

When I left Zappos I had a desire to create a website that focused on Items Dog Lovers would enjoy. Doggy Daddy was born. I practiced with other websites before I decided to put together this Shopify store. My goal is to have as many different breeds as possible represented on this site. Some of the items are print on demand and I also will be bringing on some branded items I will hold inventory in as well. With my private label experience I came up with the Doggy Daddy™ brand name. This adventure will be ever evolving, As the late great Tony Hsieh used to say in the early days, "Evolve or go extinct". 

The reason for Dog Lover stuff? I LOVE DOGS! I have had dogs all my life and currently have a mini-poodle named Teddy who I just adore. If you love dogs like I love mine, this shop is for you! 

With my vast experience in retail I hope to bring to this site what dog lovers like me are looking for. If you have any questions about product or any requests please feel free to contact me in the contact section.

Appreciate your time,

-mike

* If you are interested in my story you can find all 267+ blogs from start to present here at https://solemanstudios.com