Macy's Century-Long Retail Advantage Stemmed From Quaker-Inspired Fixed Pricing
Tom Gaynor · Tom Gayner: Invest Like The Best · Jan 23, 2024 · at 8:01
Markel CEO Tom Gaynor explains how Quaker egalitarian philosophy led to fixed pricing and advertising innovations in early American retail like Macy's.
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“And because he was willing to sell anybody a set of sheets, a set of dishes at the same price, he was able to advertise. And put those prices in the newspaper, and no other merchants would do that at the time. And R.H. Macy, the chain, went for a hundred plus years of a head start that all came about because Mr. R.H. Macy as a Quaker acted in a certain way as a merchant, which derived from the principle that you don't charge somebody a higher price just because you can.”
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