Selfridge, Harry

Selfridge was born in Ripon , Wisconsin , USA ^[4] , January 11, 1858 ^[5] . In addition to Harry, the family had two more brothers who died at an early age. Within a month after Harry was born, the family moved to Jackson, Michigan , where his father purchased the store. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Robert Oliver Selfridge, Harry's father, joined the federal army. Having reached the rank of major, he was discharged, but decided not to return home ^[6] .

His mother Lois raised her children alone. Both brothers Harry died at an early age, shortly after the end of the war, so that Harry was the only child. Lois found work as a school teacher, struggling to make ends meet. In her free time, she painted greeting cards and eventually became the principal of Jackson High School. Harry and his mother had a good relationship all their lives and always lived together ^[7] .

When Harry was 10 years old, he began to work as a peddler. At the age of 12, he got a job in the haberdashery of Leonard Field, which allowed him, together with his school friend Peter Loomis, to create a monthly magazine for children. The magazine brought in advertising revenue.

Selfridge, leaving school at age 14, found a job at a bank in his hometown. After failing entrance exams at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland , Selfridge got a job as an accountant in a local furniture factory. A few months later, the factory went bankrupt, and Harry moved to Grand Rapids , where he began working as an insurance agent.

In 1876, his past employer, Leonard Field, wrote Selfridge a letter of recommendation for Marshall Field in Chicago , a senior associate in Field, Leiter and Co., one of the city’s most successful stores (which was renamed Marshall Field and Co. , later bought by a retail chain Macy's ). Starting as a warehouse worker in the wholesale department, over the next 25 years, Selfridge climbed the career ladder. He eventually became a junior companion, married Rosalie Buckingham, and earned a considerable fortune. ^[8]

Working with Marshall Field, Harry first organized Christmas discounts under the slogan “Just ___ days before Christmas”, which was quickly picked up by the owners of other stores. He also first used the phrase "the client is always right" ^[9] . Later, Cesar Ritz advertised his hotels with the slogan "the client is never wrong" ^[10] .

In 1906, Selfridge went on holidays to England . Unsatisfied with the quality of British retail, he noted that the latest trade ideas adopted in the United States have still not reached London . Harry decided to invest £ 400,000 in his own building and department store. A new store called Selfridges ”, Opened March 15, 1909, thereby setting new standards in retail.

Selfridge promoted the radical concept of purchase for pleasure, not necessity. The store was actively promoted through advertising. Halls were built in such a way that the goods could be more accessible to customers. There were elegant restaurants with modest prices, a library, reading and writing rooms, special receptions for French, German, American and "colonial" customers, an ambulance room and a "silence room with soft lighting, recliners and double glazing, everything was intended for in order to detain customers in the store for as long as possible. Employees were taught to be at hand to help customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell goods. In addition, Selfridge managed to get a shot It is supposed to have the number “1” as your own phone number.

Selfridge flourished during World War I and until the mid-1930s. The Great Depression had already affected Selfridge's retail business, and its generous expenses led to an increase in debt of £ 150,000. Despite all the ups and downs, Selfridge became a British subject only in 1937. This did not help him return, given the habit of living in a big way, and by 1940 he already owed £ 250,000.

The store existed until 1951 as an independent enterprise, although Harry himself left his brainchild much earlier - in 1941 ^[11] . In 1951, the original Selfridges was acquired by the Lewis department store chain from Liverpool, bought in 1965 by the Sears Group, which, in turn, was acquired in 2003 by Canadian Galen Weston for £ 598 million.

In 1890, Selfridge married Rosalie ("Rose") Buckingham from Chicago. Her father, Benjamin Hale Buckingham, successfully ran a family business founded by Rosalie's grandfather, Alva Buckingham. 30-year-old Rose acquired land on Harper Avenue in Chicago and built 42 villas and a cottage for natural artists in a landscape setting. The couple had five children: three girls and two boys.

At the height of its success, Selfridge rented Highcliff Castle in Hampshire from Major General Edward James Montague-Stewart-Worthley. In addition, he acquired the Hengstbury Head, a mile-long cape on the south coast of England, where he planned to build a magnificent castle; however, these plans were never implemented, and in 1930 the cape was put up for sale. Although Selfridge was just a tenant in Highcliff, he set about installing modern bathrooms, installing steam central heating and construction, and equipping a modern kitchen. During World War I, Rose opened a tent camp called “Mrs. Gordon Selfridge Recovery Camp” for American soldiers on the castle grounds. Selfridge refused his rental only in 1922. Selfridge Rose's wife died during the 1918 flu pandemic; his mother died in 1924.

Being a widower, Selfridge had numerous connections, including with the illustrious Sisters Dolly and divorced Syria Barnardo Welk, who later became better known as the decorator Siri Maugham. He also led a very eventful social life, often becoming a character in urban gossip. During the years of the Great Depression, Selfridge’s state quickly declined and his free spending did not help the situation. He often played for money and often lost, spent a lot on different dancers.

On May 8, 1947, Selfridge died of bronchial pneumonia in his home in Putney, in southwest London, at the age of 89. His funeral took place on May 12 at St. Mark’s Church in Highcliff, after which he was buried in St. Mark’s churchyard next to his wife and mother.

• Chandler, died shortly after birth;
• Rosalie, married a Russian aristocrat and aviator Serge de Bolotov, later Vyazemsky;
• Violetta, wrote The Flying Gypsies, a 10,000-mile flight record, married the Viscount aviator Jean-Jacques de Sibur, and then Frederick T. Bedford;
• Harry "Gordon" Selfridge Jr., continued the work of his father and helped him in his work;
• Beatrice.

Two grandchild of Selfridge, who both died in 2008, became famous in the world of science:

• Oliver was a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence.
• Ralph was a professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of Florida from 1961 to 2002 and was called the "grandfather of digital modeling."

Selfridge wrote The Commercial Novel, published by John Lane in 1918 and written several years earlier. In it, the author considers the history of trade from ancient times: in different chapters he gives the most successful examples from the days of Ancient China, Antiquity, studies the success of the famous dynasties of Venice and Florence, examines the Hanseatic League, fair culture, guilds, early British trade, Tudors, Ost- An Indian company, merchants of Northern England, the growth of trade and the problem of trade and aristocracy, companies of the Hudson's Bay, Japan and, finally, business of the twentieth century.

Among the most popular quotes attributed to Selfridge are:

• “People will notice you if you notice what makes them notice.”
• “The boss leads his people; the leader is training them. The boss depends on power, the leader on goodwill. The boss inspires fear; the leader is enthusiastic. The boss says "I", the leader is "we." The boss deflects the blame; the leader takes a stall. The boss knows how to do it; leader shows how. The boss says, “Do,” and the leader, “Let's do it!”
• “The customer is always right.”

• In 2013, the British television series Mr. Selfridge was released with Jeremy Piven as Harry Gordon Selfridge.
• An independent British company, Pioneer Productions, also produced an hour-long documentary called “Secrets of Selfridge,” from the series “Secrets of Britain”.

• Mr Selfridge. The series about the entrepreneur (English) . IMDb Date of treatment March 18, 2013. Archived on April 7, 2013.