VERSAINSECT etail Revolutionary & Social Innovator

I liked reading this book because I learned some facts about Price Club, Costco, and the Price Family that I didn't know about before reading this book. I was a member of Price Club when they were in business and have been a member of Costco for many years. I want to thank Robert Price for writing this book and for his family and him having the Price Club in business for many years in the past. The book does have a picture of the outside of a White Front store in the past and the book does mention about Gemco and White Front which were discount retailers of the past. Some of the interesting facts that this book mentions in it are as follows: As a child, Sol Price had a drooping eyelid in his left eye that he was self-conscious of. He compensated for this by an overachiever in school skipping two grades and entering high school at the age of 13 years old. A reluctance of Price Club to completely embrace the addition of fresh food departments to the product mix was just one of the factors that weakened Price Club in competing against Costco and Sam's. When Price Club merged, they decided that Costco would be the best choice to merge with. Jim Sinegal of Costco to a large degree had mainly the same business philosophy as Sol Price in giving the best possible value to members and providing good wages and benefits to employees. Although the Fed Mart transaction with Hugo Mann 18 years earlier did not completely work out right, the Price Company merger with Costco was done right. Employees from both companies were guaranteed employment. No employee was terminated due to the merger. The merchandising and operations going forward were continued with the same policies and philosophy that both companies believed in.

It's rare for an individual to succeed with a new retailing format let alone two different models. However, Sol Price changed the way people shop and the way retailers operate by creating the discount retail model with FedMart, in the 1950s, and the warehouse club model with Price Club, in the 1970s. His ideas influenced many of the most successful retailers in history including Sam Walton (Walmart), Bernard Marcus (Home Depot), and Jim Sinegal (Costco). At the core of his success was the notion that his companies maintained a professional fiduciary relationship with their customers. He felt that he was representing the customers and that he had a duty to be very honest and fair with them. This idea along with many other Sol Price ideas can be most directly observed at Costco today, which acquired Price Club in 1993.

I haven’t finished reading it yet but I really like it so far! Sol Price was a good man who helped start the wholesale warehouse industry and this book takes you through that journey on a real level (balancing that and his family life). It magnifies his belief in treating people well and demonstrates all the hard work he put in over his life to make things happen. Whether you’re interested in reading about business start up/following a dream or work for places like Costco or Sams club I’d recommend it. For those who do work in the industry it’s definitely interesting to see how things came to be as they are today.

Have ordered this book from US to India. Fantastic packaging; brand new hard cover book. And thanks for shipping it so fast!

Easy read, well written interesting and compelling story and done with love by his son Robert.If you want to understand COSTCO than you start with the Prices, they are the ones who made culture and fiduciary duty one and the same thing.

than we realize in revolutionizing our shopping habits And that goes for Sinegal as well. Sinegal wrote the foreword and being Price's protege and the student that best went on to show the teacher Price, that he did his homework and applied his "schooling" into his life's work in co-founding Costco Wholesale.

A well written book about an amazing innovator who changed the way we shop. I really enjoyed this book!

An excellent book by an excellent businessman.

..... an inspiration for all in business!