28 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Spanish retail entrepreneur who co-founded Inditex — the parent company of Zara — starting as a delivery boy for a shirt maker and building the world's largest fashion retailer through a completely different supply chain model: fast fashion based on trend observation and rapid production rather than seasonal collection.
Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman's Issaquah, Washington membership warehouse retailer — notable for its employee-friendly policies (high wages, benefits for part-time workers), low margins, and the 15% markup rule.
Co-founder of Clarksville Natural Grocery in Austin — which merged with John Mackey's SaferWay in 1980 to create Whole Foods Market.
American entrepreneur — former CEO of Starbucks — who built Starbucks from a regional Seattle chain into the world's largest coffee shop company — author of Pour Your Heart Into It.
American retail entrepreneur who co-founded Costco with Jeff Brotman — having worked for Sol Price at Price Club — and built it into one of the world's most successful retailers through an obsession with passing savings to customers and treating employees exceptionally well.
American private equity firm founded by Leonard Green in 1989 — which focuses on consumer, retail, and healthcare investments — and which invested in Whole Foods Market.
American entrepreneur who built Les Schwab Tire Centers from a single tire store in Prineville, Oregon into a Pacific Northwest retail empire with 500+ stores — through a profit-sharing model that turned employees into motivated owners and an extraordinary service standard.
Sam Walton's 1992 memoir — telling the story of Walmart's founding and growth from a single variety store to the world's largest retailer — notable for its direct, unpretentious style and specific tactical advice about retail.
Co-founder of Clarksville Natural Grocery in Austin — which merged with John Mackey's SaferWay in 1980 to create Whole Foods Market.
Ray Kroc's Oak Brook, Illinois fast food company — franchised from the McDonald brothers — the largest fast food restaurant chain in the world and the company that created the modern fast food franchise model.
Japanese-Canadian businessman and president of Nintendo of America who established Nintendo's US operations — building the distribution network and retail relationships that made the NES the dominant US gaming platform after the 1983 video game crash.
American cable television network specializing in home shopping, which Barry Diller purchased in 1992 and used as the insight that interactive screens could power direct commerce.
American retail entrepreneur who built the S.H. Kress chain of five-and-dime stores — which at its peak had 264 stores nationwide — and who used his fortune to amass a major collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, much of which he donated to American museums.
American entrepreneur who founded Walmart in 1962 — building it into the world's largest retailer — through relentless cost reduction, rural market focus, supply chain innovation, and a distinctive employee culture of autonomy with accountability.
American entrepreneur who founded Price Club in 1976 — the first warehouse club retailer — whose model of selling bulk goods at slim margins to fee-paying members inspired Costco and Sam's Club, creating an entirely new retail category.
American retail entrepreneur who founded FedMart and then Price Club — pioneering the membership warehouse club concept — and who was explicitly acknowledged by Sam Walton as the person he most studied and copied in building Sam's Club.
Sam Walton's Bentonville, Arkansas retail company — the largest company in the world by revenue — defining the modern retail supply chain, everyday low prices, and the power dynamics between retailers and suppliers.
American natural and organic food supermarket chain co-founded by John Mackey in 1980 — which built the premium organic grocery category — and which Amazon acquired in 2017 for $13.7B as its entry into physical retail.
Spanish fashion retail brand co-founded by Amancio Ortega in 1975 — which invented the fast fashion model and became the world's most recognized fashion brand through rapid trend response, vertical supply chain integration, and a minimalist marketing approach.
Sol Price's warehouse membership club (1976-1993) — the direct predecessor to Costco, formed when Price was ousted from FedMart and created a new, refined version of the membership warehouse concept.
Pacific Northwest regional tire chain founded by Les Schwab — famous for extreme customer service, employee profit sharing, and the 'sprint to the car' culture that made it a case study in service culture.
Sol Price's membership discount retail chain (1954-1982) — the institutional forerunner of warehouse retail, from which both Costco and Sam's Club are directly descended.
American jewelry retailer who sold Helzberg Diamonds to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 1995 — notable for the unusually personal and values-driven way he ran and sold his family business.
Barnett Helzberg Jr.'s account of building and selling Helzberg Diamonds — a practical guide to values-based retailing and the human factors behind a successful business.
Co-founder of Home Depot who, after being fired from Handy Dan Home Improvement in 1978, turned the trauma into the founding of the world's largest home improvement retailer.
The world's largest home improvement retailer — co-founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank after both were fired from a competing chain — that pioneered the big-box retail model in home improvement.
Dutch wholesale membership warehouse chain (founded 1968) — the European forerunner of the warehouse club format that also influenced Sol Price's thinking.
Founder of Helzberg Diamonds — the jewelry retail chain that his son Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. later sold to Warren Buffett.