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M AT T H I A S SPA N K E

R ETAI L
ISN’T
DE A D
Innovative
Strategies for
Brick and
Mortar Retail
Success
Retail Isn’t Dead
 Matthias Spanke

Retail Isn’t Dead

Innovative Strategies for Brick
and Mortar Retail Success
Matthias Spanke
BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc
Miami, FL, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-36649-0    ISBN 978-3-030-36650-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36650-6

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the
whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or
information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
­
­methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does
not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective
laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are
believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors
give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or ­omissions
that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 Preface

Ever since its boom, e-commerce has challenged the processes and services
provided by brick-and-mortar retail. Customers love the speed and conve-
nience of online retail, from quick and simple browsing through a vast num-
ber of products to payment at the touch of a button and delivery within a very
short time to the hassle-free exchange of goods. E-commerce has massively
changed the way customers shop. And those people have carried their expec-
tations over to physical retailers. Against this backdrop, however, online busi-
ness is more than just a competitor and challenge; it has also inspired and
innovated the retail business.
If within seconds, customers can navigate through product selections
online and find merchandise they are looking for, they will expect that process
to be just as easy offline. If they can submit a payment on the web at the touch
of a button or via facial recognition, they will hope for the same service in
brick-and-mortar retail. Are these expectations too high? No matter how you
answer this question, whoever wants to retain customers or attract new ones
as a retailer today has to develop strategies to offer the same advantages and
even more.
And things get even tougher; the innovation pressure will never end. After
all, change paradoxically has come to be the only reliable constant in this
globalized and digitalized world. On top of that, this change has happened at
a breathtaking speed that, too, has no limits. Retailers may get a little satisfac-
tion from the fact that these new regularities apply to the digital world as well.
But what exactly does online business offer that brick-and-mortar retail
usually lacks today?
Let us begin with products: The Internet is never “out of stock.” In physical
stores, the inventory on hand is limited, while online, there seems to be an

v
vi Preface

unlimited selection. Here, you can navigate through an entire product range
with just a few clicks instead of having the tedious task of seeking orientation
in a crammed, potentially large store. A hopeless situation for brick-and-­
mortar retailers? Not at all; international retailers demonstrate solutions for
this. Just two successful examples for these adaptations: Macy’s demonstrates
how you can infinitely extend a product range in the truest sense of the word
using virtual reality technology. The Home Depot leads its customers to the
merchandise they want via the shortest route using its clever in-store navi-
gation app.
Once a preselection is made, a second or third opinion is often required.
Online, these opinions are provided right away as customer reviews, by the
dozen at that. Examples from all over the world demonstrate how this can also
be done offline in a creative and clever way.
Generally, if you have decided on an item, all you want to do is pay right
away. You can do that in the online shop with just a click, fingerprint, or facial
recognition. And the merchandise will already be on its way. There is nothing
to keep physical retailers from offering the same service: From the checkout
kiosk at Zara to Marks & Spencer’s “Mobile, Pay, Go” to the “Just Walk Out”
technology of Amazon Go, companies demonstrate how that works.
Everyone passes their personal information and shopping habits along—
sometimes deliberately but often rather unknowingly. These data are used
with artificial intelligence technologies, which enables algorithms to predict
the needs of customers. Thus, companies already know today what customers
will want tomorrow, even before the latter themselves know it. H&M and
other brands demonstrate how that works in brick-and-mortar retail.
But are speed and comfort enough to make a brand really tangible for cus-
tomers in the physical retail business? Definitely not.
The fact that customers are able to touch, try on, and personally see and
compare merchandise in the physical world already presents an advantage and
a good start. But why not turn that directly into a brand experience for the
customer? At Nike in New York, you can test sneakers on the in-store basket-
ball court and also be guided through user-defined exercises on enormous
HD screens. John Lewis & Partners in London fulfill the dream of spending
a night at the department store to convince oneself of the quality of the
beds there.
To customers, stores are not just places where goods or services are sold.
They are—or at least are able to become—part of the community. With co-­
working spaces like those at the bank branches of Capital One or yoga lessons
at sportswear vendor Lululemon, companies demonstrate how they have
 Preface vii

become a permanent fixture of the community. And thus a permanent fixture

in customers’ lives.
In terms of sustainability, too, retailers need to change the way they think.
In recent years especially, customers have become more aware of the disastrous
global development of the environment. More than ever, they expect strate-
gies, commitment, and steps from companies to create long term value by
taking into consideration how they operate in the ecological, social and eco-
nomic environment. That already starts with the shop design. At the IKEA
store in London, for example, only renewable resources were used and count-
less steps taken to successfully make this shop officially the most sustainable
store of Great Britain. The number of customers who include an ecological
commitment of companies in their purchase decision continues to grow.
There is a large number of steps that can and should be taken to gain com-
petitive advantages in physical retail. The most important and innovative
strategies for that are pointed out in this book. These include new brand
experiences, potential applications of in-store technologies, sustainability ini-
tiatives, and steps to make online advantages available offline. This book is
practical and user-oriented, with a lot of tips and over 50 illustrated best-­
practice examples from a wide variety of industries from all over the world.
Let yourself be inspired and discover new possibilities with which you will
be successful in brick-and-mortar retail, now and in the future.

Matthias Spanke
Chief Executive Officer of BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc,
Miami, FL
Chief Executive Officer of BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising
GmbH, Germany
Chief Executive Officer of BIG CAREERS Retail Recruitment, Germany
 Acknowledgements

I wish to thank everyone who has supported the realization of this book. Their
critique, inspiration, and patience greatly enriched this process both profes-
sionally and personally.
I had the great fortune of working with Dr. Kai Kaufmann, and his assis-
tance extended well beyond the regular responsibilities of a lecturer.
Sandi Snively and Ron D’Angelo contributed their enormous expertise to
elevate the subject matter of this book. They were tireless and passionate spar-
ring partners as we argued the finer points. Based on her well-known mastery
of style, Carla Panzella offered invaluable advice on the translation options for
the English book version.
My teams of BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising and BIG CAREERS Retail
Recruitment did a wonderful job backing me up in the daily business of both
agencies, which allowed me to give this project the full attention it deserves.
From beginning to end, the entire team of Palgrave Macmillan offered their
professionalism, their cooperation, and most importantly, their trust—all of
which resulted in ample space for creativity.
Whenever things got rocky, which was often the case in this project, there
was always one person who was willing to listen: Gerard Vignuli.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all of the friendly supporters
on the part of the companies serving as best-practice examples.

7-Eleven | Sandor Timar (Seven & i Holdings), Yuki Oda (Seven & i Holdings)
7Fresh | Yuchuan Wang (JD.com)
Albert Heijn | Maarten van Tartwijk (Ahold Dellhaize)
Amazon | Laura Gunning
American Girl | Susan A. Jevens

ix
x Acknowledgements

Apple | Martin Kuderna (PRfection), PR-Team (PRfection)

Audi | Susanne Herr, Susanne Killian
b8ta | Brooke Flohr (Bevel PR)
ba&sh | Irene Yuan
Barclays | Eliot Goward
BOTTLETOP | Jessica Jurkschat
Canada Goose | Tobias Woischke
Capital One | Devin Short, Laura Di Lello
Charlotte Tilbury | Amy Nichols, Katie Dobson
DUER Performance | Chanel Pel
Eileen Fisher | Maya Carmosino
Ekoplaza | Diana van den Boomen (UDEA), Steven Ijzerman (UDEA)
H&M | H&M PR-Team
HSBC | Matt Klein
IKEA | Joshua Gbadebo (Hope&Glory PR), Kim Steuerwald
Jelmoli | David Blomerus (Eliane Bachenheimer PR/EBPR), David Zalud
(Eliane Bachenheimer PR/EBPR)
John Lewis & Partners |Rachael Brown
Kohl‘s | Melanie Reynolds
LINE FRIENDS | Lena Han, Mina Park (Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc.)
Lowe‘s | Alice Lee, Gretchen Lopez
Macy‘s | Christine Olver Nealon, Julie Strider
Marks & Spencer | Emma Brown
MUJI | Anne Robinson (Camron PR Ltd), Helen Cowdry (Camron PR Ltd)
Nike | Anne Eikenboom (Spice PR)
Original Unverpackt | Ria Schäfli
Pepe Jeans | Marta Díaz-Mauriño
Samsung | Isabel Suditsch (Ketchum Pleon GmbH)
Sonos | Breanna Wilson (Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc.), Jenisse Curry
Target | Jacqueline De Buse
The North Face | Michaela Hardy
Uniqlo | Gary Conway (Fast Retailing)
Walmart | Ragan Dickens
 Contents

Part I Brand Experience   1

1 Testing and Playing  3

2 Paid Experience 17

3 Pop-Up Shop 23

4 Community Hub 31

Part II Retail Technologies  39

5 Augmented Reality 41

6 Virtual Reality 47

7 Artificial Intelligence 55

8 RFID: Radio Frequency Identification 63

xi
xii Contents

Part III Inspired by Online Retail  69

9 Social Networks 71

10 In-Store Apps 77

11 Easy Checkout 85

12 Pickup and Returns 95

13 Delivery101

Part IV Sustainability 107

14 Point of Sale109

15 Rent, Resale, Redesign119

16 Closing Words127

BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising129

BIG CAREERS Retail Recruitment131

Index133
 List of Images

Image 1.1 DUER Performance. (Source: DUER Performance) 5

Image 1.2 Nike. (Source: Nike) 6
Image 1.3 Canada Goose. (Source: Canada Goose) 8
Image 1.4 Sonos. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 9
Image 1.5 b8ta. (Source: b8ta) 11
Image 1.6 Samsung. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 12
Image 2.1 American Girl. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 20
Image 2.2 MUJI. (Source: Ryohin Keikaku) 21
Image 3.1 John Lewis & Partners. (Source: John Lewis & Partners) 26
Image 3.2 Jelmoli. (Source: Jelmoli) 27
Image 3.3 Macy’s. (Source: Macy’s) 29
Image 4.1 Capital One. (Source: Capital One) 35
Image 5.1 Charlotte Tilbury. (Source: Charlotte Tilbury) 43
Image 6.1 The North Face. (Source: The North Face) 49
Image 6.2 IKEA. (Source: Demodern—Creative Technologies) 51
Image 6.3 Audi. (Source: AUDI AG) 53
Image 7.1 HSBC. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 57
Image 7.2 Amazon Books. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 59
Image 7.3 Uniqlo. (Source: Uniqlo) 60
Image 7.4 H&M. (Source: H&M) 61
Image 8.1 Pepe Jeans. (Source: Pepe Jeans) 65
Image 8.2 Macy’s. (Source: Macy’s) 67
Image 9.1 LINE FRIENDS. (Source: LINE FRIENDS) 73
Image 10.1 Nike. (Source: Nike) 80
Image 10.2 7FRESH. (Source: 7FRESH) 82
Image 11.1 Marks & Spencer. (Source: Marks & Spencer) 88
Image 11.2 Albert Heijn. (Source: Albert Heijn) 89
Image 11.3 Amazon Go. (Source: BIG IDEAS Visual Merchandising Inc) 91

xiii
xiv List of Images

Image 12.1 Walmart. (Source: Walmart) 98

Image 13.1 IKEA. (Source: UNP photography/IKEA) 103
Image 14.1 BOTTLETOP. (Source: Andrew Meredith) 111
Image 14.2 IKEA. (Source: IKEA) 112
Image 14.3 Original Unverpackt. (Source: Original Unverpackt, Katja Vogt) 114
Image 14.4 Ekoplaza. (Source: Ekoplaza) 116
Image 15.1 ba&sh. (Source: ba&sh) 121
Image 15.2 Eileen Fisher. (Source: Eileen Fisher) 124
 Part I
Brand Experience

The digital era has created greater challenges for brick-and-mortar retail. As a
result of digitization, customer expectations have changed and increased pro-
foundly in other industries as well. However, the retail sector has been par-
ticularly affected. Ironically, retailers are now also starting to face competition
in their own backyard. Some online traders are recognizing the advantages of
physical retail and opening stores. But everyone is asking the same question:
If almost every product that is available worldwide can be found and com-
pared online within seconds, then what advantages are left that make physical
retail a convincing option?
Successful retailers have come up with several very good answers to this
vitally important question. They create places where customers can explore the
brand, enjoy themselves, and experience something new. Why? Because cus-
tomers are looking for a reason to visit stores. They want a physical experience.
The idea of an in-store customer experience is nothing new. However, the
consumer’s expectations of how that experience should look have changed. It’s
no longer sufficient for customers to be greeted upon entering the store, for
the goods on display to be changed with each season, and for payment to be
hassle-free.
As a retailer, you are facing new challenges. The customer’s experience
needs to be your main focus. Do consumers enjoy visiting your store? What
experiences do you offer them that your competitors and online providers in
particular do not? How can you prevent potential disruptive factors in the
brand experience?
This chapter will introduce new retail strategies that focus on the customer’s
experience rather than the actual product. After all, this experience has become
the decisive factor when it comes to the success of a brick-and-mortar retail brand.
 1
Testing and Playing

A major advantage of physical retail is that the product or service offered can
be tested right there and then. This offers the opportunity to physically see it,
touch it, and maybe even hear, smell, or taste it. There are often hidden advan-
tages that are not directly obvious to the customer. How can I convince the
consumer of the latest technology of running shoes? Or of the sound quality
of sound systems being offered? The best way to achieve this is by being able
to test it in real life. This requires more than just leaving the product out on
display for people to try out. Customers want to have fun and experience
something new. They want to know there is added value to making the trip
from their computer at home to the physical retail store.
“Try Before You Buy” is the strategy for success. Products or services
that are likely to result in increased sales after being tested by a customer
are presented to be tried. In that case, it is important to consider which
product advantages are not immediately recognizable but nonetheless
offer the customer added value. Does the mattress on display offer excep-
tional comfort and back support? Or is the outdoor clothing wind and
waterproof?
Once it has been determined which advantage is to be tested by the con-
sumer, the next question is how to implement it. How can the test be turned
into a customer experience? In order to test waterproof jackets, a rain booth
could be set up. This would clearly demonstrate under a shower head that the
product really is waterproof. The test would work best if the customer was
able to try the item out in the rain. In order to enhance the experience even

© The Author(s) 2020 3

M. Spanke, Retail Isn’t Dead, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36650-6_1
4 M. Spanke

more, a backdrop and the sound of a waterfall in the rain forest could be used
to create a tangible setting.
Customers not only want to touch and feel the products; they want to be
convinced of their functionality, learn something new, and be entertained.
Try passing on specialist knowledge to your consumers during the product
test, thus offering added value. While testing running shoes in-store, the
customer could, for example, be offered a running analysis. This provides
information about the person’s foot position and requirements for optimal
footwear. Why? Because consumers are inquisitive and require more of their
shopping experience. If you meet this need, the store turns into a place for
testing and learning.
Encourage the customer to have fun in your store—encourage interaction.
Distract stressed consumers from their everyday lives with playful experiences,
thus creating a positive brand experience. The cosmetic chain store Sephora in
Barcelona gives customers the option of using the escalator or a slide when
going downstairs. The slide not only offers some fun but also provides fantas-
tic photo opportunities for social media.
Create areas for testing, playing, and learning where customers can experi-
ence your products firsthand. Here, consumers should be entertained and
educated. Try to recognize any problems or challenges that customers have
when purchasing products and solve these in an innovative and meaningful
way. Offer a hassle-free experience that cannot be provided online. Ensure
that all actions match the intended brand statement. In-store visits will then
result in a successful brand experience.

Call to Action
–– Consider which goods or services offer advantages that aren’t readily
apparent.
–– Develop creative and innovative test zones which allow customers to try
out these products while at the same time giving them a feeling of being
entertained.
–– Make sure that while a product is being tested, other areas like playing,
learning, and experiencing are also being taken into account.
–– Ask yourself whether the action area fits your brand and offers customers a
positive brand experience.
 1 Testing and Playing 5

 UER Performance: A Denim Playground

D
for Adults
DUER Performance is a Canadian apparel company specializing in functional every-
day clothing for men and women who lead active lifestyles. Since its founding in
2013, the headquarters and adjacent flagship store have been situated in Vancouver,
Canada. In addition to this location, the company currently has another store in
Toronto. It distributes its goods through more than 400 retailers in 150 cities in
Canada, the USA, and Europe. DUER currently employs approximately 60 workers.

Image 1.1 DUER Performance. (Source: DUER Performance)

DUER fuses performance and style by combining performance attributes

like high-stretch fibers with COOLMAX® for temperature control to create
apparel that can handle all you do in a day. Their pants are high-stretch, light-
weight, and durable. Other performance features include moisture-wicking,
temperature control, and antimicrobial properties. The brand is challenged
with communicating all of these product advantages to the customers in an
entertaining way and to make them tangible.
In their two physical storefronts, DUER created a Performance Denim
Playground for adults. An uncomplicated experience where customers can
test the jeans by squatting, stretching, cycling, jumping, and swinging.
To achieve this while retaining the existing wooden structure of the building,
a tree house was built utilizing the building’s high ceilings. It has a net that is
suspended 8 feet above the floor and can be used for walking, crawling, or
relaxing. There is also a swing and monkey bars. The idea is for customers not
6 M. Spanke

only to try on the apparel but also to have fun and experience firsthand how
stretchy and comfortable the clothes are.
During a visit to their store, customers are encouraged to jump, climb, and
stretch while trying on a pair of DUER pants. Thus, adults get to bring out
their inner child while testing out the features of DUER’s products. Both new
and existing customers are amazed by the Performance Denim Playground.
As a result, not only have they increased their brand experience and brand
awareness, but also their customer frequency and sales. By introducing this
playground, the company created a new kind of shopping experience that
allows the product advantages to be tested directly. The store has become an
entertaining, active, and experience-oriented retail area.
A further advantage is the fact that the store, along with its experience-­oriented
course, is directly connected with its headquarters. All head office employees,
including the design team, work in the office beside the store and regularly get
direct feedback from customers on the Performance Denim Playground.

Nike: In the Test Zone

Nike Inc. is a multinational company with its head office in the greater Portland
area of the US State of Oregon. Founded in 1964, the sports brand has almost
1200 stores worldwide and is sold by retail partners in more than 30,000 loca-
tions. Nike employs more than 70,000 workers worldwide to design, develop,
manufacture, and distribute footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. The
core target group involves consumers between the ages of 15 and 40.

Image 1.2 Nike. (Source: Nike)

 1 Testing and Playing 7

Surveys of Nike customers show: They would like a place where they can
play, test products, optimize their own performance, and meet other sports
enthusiasts. This is exactly what Nike has done in the New York district of
SoHo. Five floors covering an area of over 55,000 square feet beckon people
to test, practice, play, and experience.
On the top floor, with a ceiling height of 23 feet, there is a basketball court.
As test players throw baskets and test basketball shoes, huge HD screens give
them the impression they’re playing at the famous basketball courts on the
streets of New York. Sensors guide the player through custom exercises on the
over-sized screens. Cameras are set up all around the basketball court to cap-
ture the action from different vantage points and to show it on the screens in
real time during the game.
There are running test zones located on different floors. Here, a treadmill
and a huge screen simulate running outdoors. Customers can choose to run
for 90 seconds through Central Park or along the water in Battery Park. The
treadmill is surrounded by several cameras that record the customer’s gait dur-
ing the run. Store employees analyze the running behavior and are thus able
to recommend the most suitable pair of sneakers.
The Nike soccer shoe test area is on the third floor. Here, you will find a
large floor area of almost 400 square feet covered with synthetic lawn and sur-
rounded by glass walls. Customers can test soccer shoes and are advised by
certified test athletes on specialist topics and product features. In addition,
they will find a customization studio, a women’s boutique with a personal
styling service, and a community meeting point with a seating area.
The whole store is connected to a digital network. The in-store technology is
designed in such a way that customers gain new knowledge about their sporting
performance. Through their online Nike account, they can access test area film
footage and share it on social media. The Nike app is very well designed and
uses recorded test data to optimally customize the customer’s experience during
the next visit to the store. For example, the app not only saves the results of the
running analysis but also which shoes the consumer tried on.
Nike offers the customer product experiences that can’t be achieved online.
These include: going for a virtual run through Central Park, throwing baskets
at one of the city’s top basketball courts, which has been digitally rendered
onto a screen, or a test game in a closed-in soccer field. And there is plenty of
specialized knowledge that customers can use to increase their sporting per-
formance in the future. It doesn’t matter whether you’re training for a mara-
thon, play basketball in your free time, or just love sneakers: This store is
worth a trip. Nike has already implemented elements of its successful SoHo
project at other locations around the world.
8 M. Spanke

Canada Goose: Ice Age in Hong Kong

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. was founded in Toronto, Canada in 1957. The
headquarters of this luxury brand are still located there today. The world’s leading
manufacturer of high-performance clothing in the luxury sector offers a wide range
of jackets, parkas, waistcoats, hats, and gloves. The target group involves women
and men between the ages of 25 and 45. Canada Goose has eleven stores on three
continents and employs 3800 workers.

Image 1.3 Canada Goose. (Source: Canada Goose)

How do you sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo? This classic question found in

handbooks for vendors could be adapted to the next case as follows: How do
I test a coat for arctic temperatures in a subtropical place like Hong Kong?
Canada Goose took on this challenge. Its answer was to develop a very special
test area for stores—the Cold Room. The name is self-explanatory. There is a
room integrated into the store that has a temperature of minus 27 degrees
Fahrenheit along with ice sculptures. This allows customers to test the prod-
ucts even during the summer months.
The goal was to develop an in-store experience that would not just attract
attention but keep the brand authentic. After all, these products basically
involve functional outerwear. Canada Goose develops jackets for people who
work in the coldest places of the world—the Cold Room enables these jackets
to be put to the test. To that end, customers are accompanied into the freezing
room by the employees who helped them select the product. If that’s not
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Just then Tskel screamed out: “I see him now! There he is, peeping
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He threw his mortar at Pitoíois, but she saw it coming and dodged.
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“Are there any fish in this river?” asked Pitoíois.

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dresses to go into the water, the youngest brother said: “Put on your
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fish, and ran toward the camp, crying.

“What noise was that?” asked the brothers.

“It was your father’s mortar. It struck near me. He is trying to kill me.”

“It is your fault,” said the brothers. “When he was dead, you brought
him to life.”

“I don’t hate him, I want him to live,” said Pitoíois.

That minute Wûlkûtska came puffing along. “I am sweating. It’s awful

hot!” said he.

All night the brothers watched the old man for fear he would kill
Pitoíois.

“You needn’t bother,” said Pitoíois. “I am willing to die, but I want to

see my brothers again.”

“We will go home,” said the eldest brother.

“It makes me feel lonesome to go home. It was you who wanted to

come,” said the youngest brother.

The second brother was mad; he snatched his father’s mortar and
threw it into the river. The old man chased him [330]and threw the
pounder at him; it just missed him. The young man picked it up and
threw it back. It hit the old man and killed him, for his mortar was in
the water and he was getting weak. The brothers were glad that he
was dead.

“I can’t do without the old man,” said little Tskel, and he began to cry.
Pitoíois was sorry for Tskel. When the youngest brother saw how
sorry Pitoíois and Tskel were, he asked Pitoíois if she could do
anything to bring the old man to life.

She said: “I can bring him to life and give him a better mind. If I bring
him to life now, he won’t use his mortar again, and hereafter
everyone will be as he will be,—when they grow old they will be like
children.”

She got the mortar, then she made a plate out of braided grass and
sprinkled it with water. She spread the plate on the old man and
stepped over him five times. He grew warm, but didn’t come to life.
Then she said to Tskel: “Strike him with your medicine stick.” Tskel
struck him twice on the head. “Strike him twice across the breast,”
said Pitoíois. At the second blow the old man got up; he was well
again, and his mind was good.

The next morning Pitoíois had a little boy. Old Wûlkûtska called it
grandson and was glad. The youngest brother and Pitoíois went to
live with her brothers and the old man went with them. The four other
Wûlkûtska brothers started off to hunt for a wife, and little Tskel went
with them.

Pitoíois’ brothers asked her: “Have you seen any young women
where you have been?”

“There are not many women in the world,” said Pitoíois.

“We will go and get the woman Kāhkaas told us about.”

“Can you live with her?” asked Pitoíois. “Her home is under the
water. You want a wife who can live on dry land. Don’t go for her;
she is not a good wife for you.”
They asked their brother-in-law to go with them. Pitoíois didn’t want
him to go, but they started and he went with them. They traveled
toward the southwest. When the brothers got tired and wanted water
to drink, the brother-in-law dug a well for them with his hands, and
said: “This well [331]will always be here. The people to come will call
it Wûlkûtska Ámpo after me.”

On the south side of Klamath Lake they saw old man Kûlta.

“Why do you come here?” asked he.

“We have come for your daughter.”

“My children are on that island over there. I have a place ready for
each one of them; I make deep holes under the water, where they
can watch the fish. My daughter wouldn’t like you. She travels on
trails under the water. You are land people; you mustn’t go to my
island, for my children would kill you.”

The brothers climbed a high mountain. Near the top of it they found a
lake. In the water at the edge of the lake was another old man like
the first one. They saw him come out of the water with his mouth full
of fish; they had never seen any one fish in that way before. When
he saw them coming, he was frightened, and jumped into the water.
They called to him and he turned around; then he knew they were
Pitoíois’ brothers. He called them “cousins” and asked: “Where are
you going?”

“We are looking for a woman. Do you know where we can find one?”

“I don’t know, for I live in the water. If I travel on land I get dry; I
should die if I went far from water. Maybe if you go toward the west
you will find people.”

“We must go home,” said the brothers; “our sister will be lonesome.”
They found Pitoíois crying; she said: “It’s useless for you to travel
around; there are no women, except far away in the north.”

The elder brother went to the top of a mountain and cried all day. His
sister was sorry for him; she said: “There are people in the north.
Maybe you will find a wife there.”

“I will go north,” said he, “and my brother will go with me.” His
medicine was the feather of a white eagle. He put a feather on the
top of his little nephew’s head, twisted his hair around it, and said: “If
this feather comes off while we are gone, you will know that we shall
never come back.” [332]

“You must watch for Wus,” said the brother-in-law. “He is mad at us
and will kill you if he can.”

Before they got to the first mountain, the feather fell out of the baby’s
hair and flew away on the wind.

Pitoíois screamed and said to her husband: “Hurry and overtake our
brothers and tell them that as soon as they were out of sight their
medicine feather fell out of the baby’s hair.”

He went very fast, but the brothers were over five mountains. He
couldn’t overtake them, so he turned back.

The brothers came to a brook running through a wide meadow; there

were trees on each side of the brook. They sat down under a tree
and began to cry. The younger brother said: “I feel lonesome, as
though I were going to die.”

“I feel so, too,” said the elder brother. “Let us travel fast; maybe we
can get there to-day.”
They started, but hadn’t gone far when they saw Wus coming toward
them. The younger brother screamed, and said: “I think this is the
person you have been hunting for.”

When Wus met them, he asked: “Where are you going?”

“We are just traveling around.”

“You are like me; I have no home, I travel all the time. Who are you?”

“We can’t tell you who we are, but we are people.”

“Whose brothers are you?”

“We are brothers to nobody.”

“I know whose brothers you are,” said Wus. “Pitoíois is your sister;
she hates me as if I had no life in me, and I hate her. I know your
brother-in-law, the great arrow man.”

“Where are there people?” asked the elder brother.

“Near here. Will your brother-in-law come behind you?”

“We don’t know,” said the younger brother.

Wus was mad. “You will no longer be living people,” said he. “You will
be birds and wander around nights.”

Wus made night come quickly. The brothers got separated and lost
in the darkness. They called to each other, but they couldn’t get
together, and to this day they wander around alone. [333]
[Contents]
 ILYÚYU AND KÛLTA’S SISTERS

CHARACTERS

Kûlta Otter
Ilyúyu

Kûlta’s wife had one grown-up brother, and a number of little

brothers and sisters. Her grown-up brother had a pet wolf,—same as
people have pet dogs now.—Its name was Ilyúyu Watcagû, and the
young man was called by the same name.

When Kûlta’s wife went to visit her father and mother, and carry them
the nice things Kûlta had paid for her, her brother wanted to go home
with her. She said: “My brother, it is a bad place there. They eat
snake heads and frog heads. If you don’t eat with them, maybe they
will kill you. There are bad women there, too; they will make fun of
you and tease you.” But the young man kept asking her to let him go,
and at last she said: “Get some tula straws and roll them up in little
balls. When the women give you snake heads to eat, put a ball on
the dish; then they can’t hurt you.”

When they got to the house, one of Kûlta’s sisters brought a dish of
snake heads and gave it to Ilyúyu. Some of the heads were dry,
others were fresh and alive. His sister said: “Put a ball on the plate.”
But Ilyúyu was so frightened that he couldn’t move.

The women made fun of him, and said: “He doesn’t call our brother
‘brother-in-law.’ We are as good as he is, but he won’t eat with us.”
They took the plate away and said to him: “You came here to peek
around and see how we lived; you will be sorry for it. Your head may
get home, but your body will be destroyed.”

Kûlta had two sisters. Ilyúyu gave each one of them a nice bone
scratcher; then he said: “You needn’t think you won’t [334]be sorry,
too. Those bones will scratch all the flesh off your body.”

Kûlta’s wife was crying; she gathered up a sackful of nice beads and
gave them to her brother; then she gave him a bow and arrow, and
he started for home. As he went, he called: “Come, Ilyúyu! Come,
Ilyúyu!” and the little wolf followed him. He talked to Ilyúyu, said: “We
went to take our sister back to her husband, but now what trouble we
are in.” And he began to sing to himself in a crying voice: “We met
trouble from going home with our sister, we met trouble from going
home with our sister.” After he had gone a little way, he said: “I
wonder what is so heavy.” He stopped, took the sack off his back,
untied it, and threw away some of the nice beads his sister had given
him. Then he called: “Come on, Ilyúyu!”

Ilyúyu cried; he was sorry to have his master lose such beautiful
beads.

The young man said: “Come on, Ilyúyu. Don’t cry for the beads. I
have plenty of beads at home.” When he had gone a little farther, his
pack grew heavy again. He took it off and threw away more of the
beads. Ilyúyu picked them up and carried them in his mouth. “Come
on, Ilyúyu!” called his master. “Don’t mind those beads; I have plenty
of beads at home.”

Soon the young man said: “I wonder what is so heavy.” He threw

away his bow and arrows. Ilyúyu cried. He picked up the bow and
carried it in his mouth. “Come on, Ilyúyu,” said his master. “Don’t cry,
I have another bow at home.” Soon he said: “I wonder what is so
heavy.” And he threw away his quiver.
Kûlta’s wife knew what the women were doing to her brother. She
took a basket and followed him. When he threw away his quiver, she
was there behind him; she picked up the quiver and put it in her
basket. She felt badly. She cried hard and thought: “Poor brother,
they will kill you.”

The young man said: “There are too many beads on my moccasins;
they are so heavy I can hardly step.” He threw away one of the
moccasins, and called: “Come on, Ilyúyu!” [335](He didn’t see his
sister, and Ilyúyu didn’t see her.) Soon he pulled off the other
moccasin and threw it away. He threw away his belt. Ilyúyu picked it
up and tried to carry it in his mouth. He dragged it a while, then
dropped it. After a time the young man said: “What have I got on that
is so heavy?” He took off his beaded shirt and threw it away. When
Ilyúyu cried, his master called: “Come on, Ilyúyu, I have another shirt
at home.” He threw away his beaded leggings; then he was naked.
Ilyúyu was crying. “Come on, Ilyúyu,” said his master. Soon he pulled
off one arm and threw it away. Ilyúyu tried to drag the arm along with
his teeth, but his master called: “Come on, Ilyúyu, come on!” and he
left it. His sister put it in her basket. Soon he said: “I wonder what is
so heavy.” And he threw away the second arm. He pulled off his
legs; then he was only a body and head. He went on a little way,
then said: “I wonder what is so heavy.” His body fell off, and he was
only a head. He became Núsdilausniyas (Rolling Head) and could
travel fast. He crossed a mountain at a bound, then rolled along in
the air. He had big eyes and long hair that waved behind him.

When he got to the river near his home, he struck the ground, and
said: “Dum! dum!” Then he called in a loud voice: “Mother, come and
take me across!” “Where are you?” asked his mother; she couldn’t
see him.
“I am here waiting. Come and get me!” When she didn’t come, he
got mad, flew across the river and came down in the house: “Dum!
dum!” Then he flew at the people, hit them, and killed them.

Ilyúyu was crying; the river was swift and he couldn’t cross. Soon the
sister came. She found a canoe, crossed the river, and went to the
house. She looked in through the smoke hole and saw the Head
eating the body of her mother. She was terribly scared. She ran to
the village to tell the people; she knew that after the Head had eaten
her father and mother, it would fly to the village and kill everybody
there.

The Head felt dust scatter in at the smoke hole, and knew that
somebody was on the top of the house. It went out, saw tracks, and
followed the woman. When Ilyúyu saw his master, [336]just a great
bloody Head, he felt so badly and was so afraid that he ran off to the
mountains and wandered around, crying all the time.

When the sister told the people that her brother had turned to a man-
eater, the two oldest women in the village said to them: “You must
paint your faces with the pitch out of cedar trees, and be strong;
maybe we can save you.”

The two made a basket as tight and firm as they could. They waxed
their hands so they could hold the Head. Then they rowed to the
other side of the river and waited; soon they heard the Head coming,
with a terrible whizzing and noise. It struck the bank: “Dum! dum!”
and called out: “Come and take me over!” When it saw the two old
women, it asked: “Why didn’t young people come for me?”

“They are afraid of you,” said one of the old women.

“They must come. I won’t cross with you; you will throw me into the
river.”
“No, we won’t. We want to put you in our basket and take you over in
the right way, so people in later times won’t make fun of you.”

“How can I look out and see what you are doing?”

“You can look through the cracks in the basket.”

“Will you carry me into your house when you get over?”

“Yes, we will take good care of you.”

At last the Head said: “I’ll go. Take me up carefully.” When they got
the Head into the basket, it screamed and tried to get out, said: “I
can’t see. Let me out!”

“We are almost over,” said the women. “Keep still; you are all right.
Now we are going to get out of the canoe. We are across the river.”

They were only in the middle of the river. They took up the basket
and dropped it into the water. It went up and down many times, for
the Head was trying hard to get out. When the basket got near the
bank, people pushed it away with long poles. After a while it got so
heavy with water that it sank.

Then the old women said: “This world wasn’t made for such things
as you are. Hereafter you will only show yourself [337]to scare
doctors; you will be their medicine, and tell them what to do.”

When the Head was drowned, the sister went back to Kûlta’s house.
Kûlta was off on the mountains, roaming around; when he saw his
wife coming he was glad, and went to meet her. He said: “My sisters
were proud of their scratching sticks. They scratched their arms,
scratched till all the skin and flesh was off, then they scratched their
legs and bodies, scratched till only bones were left, then they died. I
was scared, and ran away.”
Kûlta built a big fire and burned up his sister’s bones, and the sacks
of dried snake heads and frog heads. When the snakes came to life
and tried to get out of the fire Kûlta and his wife pushed them in, but
they couldn’t watch all of them; some got away and ran off among
the rocks, and that is why there are so many snakes in the world
now.

When the fire had burned down, and only ashes were left, Kûlta said:
“I can’t stay here where my sisters died. I will make a house south of
here, by the river.”

While the woman was poking in the ashes, a big rattlesnake sprang
at her. Kûlta heard the snake rattle. He struck it with a long pole, and
it ran away. Then the woman began to vomit up all kinds of terrible
stuff, pieces of snake skin and fish skin, and pieces of snake heads.
Kûlta said: “This is always the way when women eat snake heads,
and such things, but with men it is different.”

When the woman was through vomiting, she found the snake and
killed it. She said: “Hereafter, you will have no power. You will want to
bite people, but you will tell them where you are; you can’t help it.
They will kill you with stones but will never eat your head; they will
say you are dirty.”

Every day the woman heard little Ilyúyu crying on the mountain. She
felt so sorry that Kûlta said: “I will find him and bring him home.”
When he got near the place where his brother-in-law’s sack grew
heavy and he put it down to throw away some of the beads, he saw
Ilyúyu sitting by the trail, but when the little fellow saw Kûlta he ran
off, crying like a [338]person. Kûlta saw him at the place where his
brother-in-law had thrown away his quiver. He called: “Come here,
Ilyúyu! Don’t be afraid! Come and go home with me.” But Ilyúyu ran
away. Kûlta followed him all day but couldn’t catch him. When he
went home, he said to his wife: “To-morrow you must go for Ilyúyu.
Maybe he will come when you call him.”

The next morning Kûlta heated stones and his wife sweated. Then
she listened. She heard Ilyúyu’s cry and followed the sound, calling
all the time: “Ilyúyu, Ilyúyu!” He would stop and wait for her to come
up near him, but when she put out her hands to catch him he ran
away. She followed him a good many days. When she camped he
would come and lie down near her, but when she moved he would
go away. She followed him till she was only skin and bones, then she
said to him: “I am going home now. If you want to be wild you can.
You will kill deer, and people will say, ‘Ilyúyu, Kûlta’s brother-in-law,
did that.’ ”

Ilyúyu ran off to the mountains and Kûlta’s wife never heard his cry
again. [339]
[Contents]
 NÄNÍHLÄS 1

CHARACTERS

Blaiwas Eagle Maûk Fly

Kaiutois Wolf Múkus Owl
Näníhläs Bat

Two Näníhläs brothers and their sister lived together. The brothers
were small men. They had no way of killing deer, so they tried to trap
them. They dug a hole so deep that if a deer fell into it, it couldn’t get
out.

One morning when the brothers went to their trap, they found a deer
in it. “We don’t want to shoot this deer,” said the elder brother.

“Why not?” asked the younger.

“Because we want the skin for a dress for our sister. If we make a
hole in it, her body will show through. We must catch the deer by the
throat and choke him to death.”

“I don’t think we can kill him in that way,” said the elder brother, “but
we can try.”

They caught hold of the deer’s throat. The deer ran around in the pit
and tried to get out.

“Hold on tight,” said the younger brother. “He will soon die.”
After a while the deer got out of the pit and ran off, but the brothers
held on. The deer ran to a mountain where there were trees and tall
brush; the blankets and caps of the Näníhläs brothers were torn off
and their bodies were scratched, but the younger brother kept
calling: “Hold on tight; we will kill him.”

At last the elder brother let go of the deer and dropped to the ground.
He went back and picked up his cap and the [340]pieces of his
blanket. He pinned the pieces together with sticks and mended his
moccasins with sticks.

The younger brother clung on for a good while, then he hit against a
tree, and got such a blow that he fell off and lay on the ground for a
long time. At last he got up, and started for home; as he went along,
he picked up the pieces of his blanket and fastened them together
with sticks. He was mad at his brother for letting go so soon. When
they met, they quarreled a while, then made up and went on. Soon
they saw a number of women coming toward them; each woman
was carrying a basketful of roots. The brothers sat down and waited.

When the women came, they put their baskets on the ground, put
some roots in a small basket, and gave the basket to the elder
brother. He called to his brother: “Come and eat some of these
roots.” The brother didn’t go; he made believe that he was mad; he
didn’t say a word. The elder brother called him a second time; the
third time he called, the younger brother said: “I won’t eat those
roots. The women gave them to you; they didn’t give me any.”

The women were afraid; they knew that those brothers were cross
and powerful. One of the women asked: “What is the matter? Why
are you mad? What are you quarreling about?”

The two began to fight. Each brother had a piece of burnt fungus;
they chewed the fungus and rubbed it on their faces and heads to
frighten the women. The women were so scared that they left their
baskets and ran off.

Then the brothers stopped fighting and laughed. They took the roots
and went home. They had a sister married to a man on the other
side of Klamath Lake. They started off to visit her. The elder brother
asked: “What will you do when we get there?”

The younger said: “I don’t know; what will you do?”

“I will make the young men fight; the chief’s son will get shot in the
eye. Everybody will run off to see him, and while they are gone, we
will steal all they have in their houses.”

When they got to their sister’s house she cried because she [341]had
nothing to give them to eat. She began to pound fish bones for them.
The younger brother asked: “Why do you cry? I will make those
bones good.” He made the fish bones into nice sweet seeds just by
thinking hard. After a while, the young men of the village began to
quarrel and then to fight, and right away the chief’s son was shot in
the eye. Everybody ran to see what had happened. The two brothers
stole all there was in the village,—blankets, beads, everything,—
made packs of them; made the packs small and put them under their
finger nails; then they started off in their canoe, taking their sister
with them.

When the people went back to their houses and found their things
gone, they knew that the brothers had stolen them. They followed
them in their canoes, and were catching up when the elder brother
asked: “What shall we do now?”

“I will make ice,” said the younger brother. Right away there was
thick ice.
“What will you do with our canoe?”

“I will put it under one of my finger nails.” He did that.

The men, finding their canoes fast in the ice, got out and ran after
the brothers.

The elder brother asked: “What shall we do now?” “I will break up the
ice and those men will drown.” Right away the ice melted. All the
men were drowned, but the brothers and their sister got home safe.

Blaiwas and Kaiutois and a good many hunters lived near the
Näníhläs brothers. One day the younger brother said: “I am going to
drive all the deer in the world into a great pit and keep them for
ourselves.” He had only to think hard and the pit was there and the
deer were in it; not one deer was left outside. That was the kind of
man he was.

The hunters wondered where the deer had gone. They couldn’t find
one, and soon they were starving. Maûk lived with the hunters; he
scented the deer to the house of the Näníhläs brothers and found
where they had them shut up. Then the hunters sent Múkus to watch
the brothers. He went to their house, sat down by the fire, and
pretended to fall asleep. The younger brother looked at Múkus’ eyes,
[342]ran a stick into his nose, and put a coal of fire on the top of his
head. Múkus didn’t move or wink. They thought he was sound
asleep. They wanted to kill a deer.

When they opened the pit, the deer were scared and made a great
noise. The brothers caught one of them, brought it out of the pit, and
fastened up the place. They killed the deer and skinned it, hid some
of the meat, and roasted the rest.
Múkus saw everything. The brothers thought: “He sees nothing; he is
asleep.”

Múkus went home and told the hunters that five great rocks fastened
up the pit where the deer were. That the rocks were so big that it
would take a great many people to move them, but the brothers
rolled them over the hole by thinking. The hunters found Tcúititi and
hired him to break the rocks. He broke them by flying up to the sky
and falling down against them. He did that five times, and the five
rocks fell to pieces. The deer came out and scattered over the whole
world. The hunters were watching, and as the deer passed them,
they chose the biggest bucks and killed them. The brothers didn’t try
again to hide the deer. [343]

1 When Indians tell this story, they talk down in their throats, to imitate the
Näníhläs people. ↑