James Cash Penney

The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.

No matter what his position or experience in life, there is in everyone more latent than developed ability; far more unused than used power.

Success will always be measured by the extent to which we serve the buying public.

The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself.

There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man.

We can serve our customers well only if our buying jobs are right. You cannot sell if you haven’t ordered wanted goods into your store.

The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money.

Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.

It was impossible to operate in the aluminium business without krysha – very real physical protection.

Businesses that grow by development and improvement do not die.

Our clients pay for value. London is the top city in the world, the best tax haven in the world for some and the top residential site in the city is One Hyde Park at the top end of Sloane Street.

Everything I do in life is framed through the view of a businessman. That’s my instinct. If I go into a pharmacy to buy shaving cream, then I’m going to look for the best deal on shaving cream.

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.

In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.

Although Mr. Edison was called ‘The Wizard’ of the electrical world and everyone thought that electricity was the coming thing, he actually encouraged me to go with my second car.

To be most effective in sales today, it’s imperative to drop your ‘sales’ mentality and start working with your prospects as if they’ve already hired you.

The epiphany for me at William Morris was realizing, ‘They bullshit on the phone! I can bullshit on the phone too!’

We decided not to show One Hyde Park til we were 100% ready. A lot of people open the doors too early.

I get my design inspiration from Christian Dior and Chanel.

The Model T blazed the way for the motor industry and started the movement for good roads everywhere. It is still the pioneer car in many parts of the world which are just beginning to be motorized.

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.