Banyan Nation,
In 1978, Bernie Marcus came out on the losing side of a corporate power struggle.
“You’re fired.”
Bernie worked his way up the corporate ladder at Handy Dandy, a chain of home improvement stores, and now was out of a job.
So he sought out the advice of a retail guru.
This retail guru suggested that he open his own home improvement business using the knowledge and experience he had gained at Handy Dandy.
And … use this retail guru’s warehouse format to do it in.
That’s exactly what Bernie and his two partners Arthur Blank and Ken Langone did to build Home Depot into a $290 billion business.
Bernie Marcus: Co-founder of The Home Depot.
Jim Sinegal, the founder of Costco, had this to say about this retail guru: “I did not learn a lot [from him]— I learned everything, everything I know.”
Jim Sinegal: Founder of Costco
And Sam Walton, founder of Walmart wrote in his book Made in America that he "borrowed" "as many ideas from this retail guru as from anybody else in the business."
Sam Walton — Founder of Walmart — and his dog Roy.
Walmart, Costco and Home Depot have a combined market cap of more than $1 trillion … and they credit a good part of their success to one of the “greatest merchants of the 20th century.”
This one man founded an industry that changed the face of retailing.
Yet … most people have never even heard of him.
After you read this, you’ll be one of the few that not only know who he is and what he did…
You’ll also fully appreciate why I focus on the person running the business … the founder/CEO in my approach to stock investing.
Because the right person at the top, makes all the difference.
King of Retail
His name is Sol Price.
Sol Price — “King of Retail”
Sol started out as a lawyer and fell into the retailing business.
In 1954, he took an empty warehouse, adapted it to a retail business and Fed-Mart was founded. Fed-Mart’s clientele was government employees and union members and credit unions.
Sol’s focus was on one thing, selling goods at a cheap price. Years later he said: “All I wanted to do was sell for the lowest price possible.”
He later went on to found Price Club and is the acknowledged father of warehouse superstores. Later when asked how it felt to be the father of an industry he replied: "I wish I'd worn a condom."
Here’s something most people don’t know … Sam Walton liked the Fed-Mart concept so much, even down to the name.
Mr. Sam said: “I really liked Sol’s Fed-Mart name so I latched it right on to Wal-Mart.”
Walmart, Costco, Home Depot … all retail giants, all give a large part of their credit to Sol Price.
That’s the amazing impact one person can have on a business and in this case an industry.
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