If one of our customers comes into the store without a smile, I'll give them one of mine.

I learned a lesson which has stuck with me all through the years: you can learn from everybody. I didn't just learn from reading every retail publication I could get my hands on, I probably learned the most from studying what John Dunham was doing across the street

I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they've been.

There is only one boss. The customer.

Take the best out of everything and adapt it to your needs.

The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for everyone to get involved. Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.

I had confidence that as long as we did our work well and were good to our customers, there would be no limit to us.