In an industry that employs more than 23 million people, (approximately one in five Americans), and handles consumer spending worth $4.1 trillion, the retail sector provides a rich source of humor stemming from the unique interactions between employees and shoppers. Retail, the first-ever comic strip to focus solely on this sector, presents a hilarious look at the retail industry by chronicling the daily events at the fictitious Grumbel’s department store. Created by Massachusetts retail management veteran Norm Feuti, the humor of Retail will play-out through the day-to-day trials and triumphs of four main Grumbel’s department store employees and the customers they encounter.

“The concept of a retail-based strip has great mass appeal, because everyone can relate to it, either as a former or current retail worker or shopper,” said Retail comic strip creator Norm Feuti. “The headache of returning merchandise and the joy in finding the right item or perfect gift can make shopping both a stressful or highly enjoyable experience. The combination of unreasonable customers, over-enthusiastic bosses and frustrated employees can make for sometimes volatile, but often funny situations.”

With the addition of a novel element unique to its RETAIL comic strip, King Features opens the door to making the experience of reading a daily comic strip an interactive one. By dialing the toll-free number --1-866-749-0824* -- which is the UPC code that is part of the RETAIL logo, retail workers and customers alike can share their own humorous retail experiences. Some of these stories and anecdotes may be used and credited in a future RETAIL strip.

Fans interested in sharing their own retail experiences may also visit http://www.retailcomic.com/en-us/ and share their stories with Norm.