Selfridge: The Life and Times of Harry Gordon Selfridge

by Fergus Mason

Just for a moment try to put every shopping trip you’ve ever made out of your head. Imagine a different world. Imagine that all the goods for sale are locked away in cabinets and to handle them, or even to examine them closely, you need to ask a shop assistant to open it up for you. Imagine that within seconds of entering a store a floorwalker approaches you and asks if you’re planning to buy something – then, when you say “I’m just looking,” rudely tells you to leave. Imagine any attempt to return faulty or unsuitable goods being met with ridicule, obstruction or a flat refusal to help you. Until the late 19th century people didn’t have to imagine that; it was reality. For anyone alive today a visit to the average store back then would convince you that they didn’t really want to sell you anything. The idea of customer service was an alien one. Stores sold things. If you wanted to buy them, fine. If you didn’t they weren’t really interested. Browsing was strongly discouraged and impulse buys were almost unheard of. Shopping was something you did when you had to. It certainly wasn’t something anyone enjoyed. Then, in the late 1880s, one man came along and changed all that. His name was Harry Gordon Selfridge and this is the story of his life.

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2014

Reviews

[katy ktp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, compact history about an incredible man, who changed the face of British retailing. Having watched the television series, it was interesting to find out the facts.

[LA Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent if you last FACTS. The author did an excellent job presenting a detailed description of the man who perfected retail marketing. I left feeling like I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Selfridge and now understand his passion and appreciate his remarkable ability to pursue his seemingly impossible dreams. I love history and the presentation was to the point.

[Valerie Wyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed watching the BBC show portraying the life of Harry Gordon Selfridge and wanted to read a more accurate account of his life. This book had a lot of "extra" information that was interesting but that I felt wasn't pertinent to the Selfridges story. Overall it was a worthy 1 hour read.

[Elysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was informative and to the point (for the most part), but it was entirely too short. Such a colorful person should have a colorful and detailed biography. As a brief overview, it was good, but I probably won't buy another biography from the series.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This edition is apparently published as a study guide. If you want to learn details about Harry Gordon Selfridge, pick up some other book.