tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988510185030767127.post6182196022673695032..comments2023-10-01T01:39:24.354-07:00Comments on The Retail Expert's BLOG: Sol Price—A Retail RevolutionaryNeil Stern, Senior Partner, McMillanDoolittle, The Retail Expertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08311316419281913922noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988510185030767127.post-42820672825451111912010-01-11T09:46:05.519-08:002010-01-11T09:46:05.519-08:00A very nice remembrance of a real industry leader....A very nice remembrance of a real industry leader. I too had my career intersect with his in several meaningful ways.<br /><br /> First, I had an aunt by marriage become his second or third wife for a short while.<br /><br /> Second, Sol tried to hire me to become his V.P. of Real Estate but his "best offer" was well below the salery I was then earning! (He thought that his offer of stock should have been enough to capture my imagination).<br /><br /> Finally, I successfully negotiated with him to lease space in several former Price Club stores he owned personally that Costco did not want to buy when they acquired the Price Club. It turned out that Sol badly miscalculated the renovation costs and he later confessed they were two of the worst deals he had ever made. <br /><br />However your characterization of Sol as someone who "revolutionized" retailing is a bit extreme. I would characterize him as someone who advanced retailing through "evolution" rather than "revolution" because there were many retailers (mostly supermarkets) that sold their goods on pallets with limited selection and high turnover. I can still remember walking through White Front, GEX,GEM and others in the 1960s and watching the stock boys use their box cutters to open the tops of the top cases and then simply walk away. I was jealous because I could easily remember my days of restocking shelves in the various retailers that I worked and having to stamp each item and place it on a clean shelf.Ken Leonardhttp://kenleonardassociates.comnoreply@blogger.com