Sol Price

Sol Price
Alma mater University of Southern California, B.A. '36, J.D. '38

Sol Price (January 23, 1916 – December 14, 2009) was the founder of FedMart and Price Club (since merged into Costco). He is considered a pioneer of the "warehouse store" retail model.

Born in New York City, Price was the son of Samuel and Bella Price, immigrants to the United States from Minsk (Russia), in the early years of the 20th century. The name Price, which later became so apt, was assigned at Ellis Island; the original name may have been Press or Preuss.[1] The family relocated to San Diego in the early 1920s.

Price graduated from San Diego High School in 1931, attended San Diego State University in 1932 and earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy and law degrees from the University of Southern California Law School in 1936 and 1938 respectively, by which time he had married his girlfriend Helen Moskowitz, the couple eloping to Las Vegas. Price was admitted to the California Bar in November 1938.[1]

Price launched the first FedMart in 1954 and founded Price Club in 1976. The company went public in 1980.[1][2] In 1993 Costco merged with (bought) Price Club to form PriceCostco.[1][2] Leadership in the new organization was shared between Sol Price's son, Robert, and James Sinegal. After eight months, PriceCostco spun off a separate company called Price Enterprises, led by the younger Price. The company eventually evolved into PriceSmart, which operates warehouse clubs overseas, while the domestic operations became Costco.[3]

Sam Walton of Wal-Mart wrote in his book Made in America that he "borrowed" "as many ideas from Sol Price as from anybody else in the business".[2] He added that he especially liked the idea of calling his discount chain "Wal-Mart" because he "really liked Sol's FedMart name". In 1983, Walton dined with Price and later that year the first Sam's Club was opened in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In the late 1980s, Price donated $2 million to the construction of a new student center on the campus of University of California, San Diego.[4] Named for Price, the Price Center, which houses the main student bookstore, food court, movie theater, ballrooms, and meeting rooms, opened on April 21, 1989.

In 2011, the Price Family Charitable Fund donated $50 million to the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The school was renamed the Sol Price School of Public Policy as a result of the donation.[5]

Price is responsible for injecting money and aiding the renaissance of the San Diego mid-city neighborhood of City Heights, near his childhood home in the neighborhood of Burlingame. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.,[1] the Board of Directors for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,[1] the Consumer Affairs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the San Diego Financial Review Panel.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Peter Eisner (December 15, 2009). "Price Club changed America's shopping experience". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/14/AR2009121403336_2.html. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
  2. ^ a b c Margalit Fox (December 16, 2009). "Sol Price, Who Founded Price Club, Is Dead at 93". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/business/16price.html. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
  3. ^ Jeffrey Covell (2000) "PriceSmart, Inc.", International Directory of Company Histories, vol. 71
  4. ^ Peter Eisner (December 15, 2009). "Sol Price, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur, Dies at 93". San Diego Jewish World. http://sdjewishworld.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/sol-price-philanthropist-and-entrepreneur-dies-at-93. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
  5. ^ Gordon, Larry. "USC School of Public Policy gets $50-million gift". LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-usc-gift-20111129,0,6117662.story. Retrieved 1 December 2011.