Stanley Marcus

If the salesperson is busy, he or she should nod and say 'I'll be with you in a few moments,' so the customer won't mind waiting.

Textiles embody all the dimensions of art: color, innovation, talent.

The department store was a product of the 19th century and became a very important institution as America went into the 20th century. It provided show places in developing towns like Terre Haute, Sacramento, and Dallas.

Running those poor steers back and forth in the heat is ridiculous. What they ought to do is put the steers in the convention hall and run the delegates.

It ought to be self-evident common sense that service is important to sales. But it's not.

I went into a Beverly Hills shop to buy an attache case. They had 250 cases on their shelves. I asked an attractive saleswoman if they carried one made of belting leather. She said 'no.' That was the end of the conversation. She made no attempt to show me another case that would provide equal service. I didn't buy an attache case.

Other than things like toothpaste, I don't buy anything that isn't sold to me.

I love to sell, to visualize something for someone and make them see it.

As goods become more standardized - and mass production has that effect, standardizing product - the distinguishing factor between one store and another is going to be how skillful stores are in satisfying customers and making it a pleasant experience instead of a hostile experience.

Make life exciting, and you live longer.

Deciding taste is egotistical, but that's how taste is established, by somebody having the courage to say, 'I don't want to sell that.'

Designers may find the fashion business can shrivel up.