Been having several Edward Filene Moments over the last few days as the discussion gains heat on monkeyshine mergers and the rise of the "me/me/me" credit union. Everyone associated with credit unions knows that Mr. Filene was the principal benefactor and key driving force behind the creation of the credit union movement in the U.S.
What many forget is that Mr. Filene was also a truly world class innovator in "merchandize -zing" - the Steve Jobs-like retailing sensation of his era. His flagship store was Filene's in Boston and his "guy in a garage", retailing innovation-incubator was the famous Filene's Basement.Edward Filene was a creative genius with an entrepreneurial spirit, who introduced many of the core sales and marketing techniques still used today. As a marketeer extraordinaire, Filene invented concepts like "fixed price/same price for all" , "XX% OFF" discounts, "two-fers", BOGO's, closeout sales, and the lay-away plan. The store also bought seasonal "close-outs" from high-end retailers and resold them for a fraction of the sticker price. Fashionistas scoured 'the Basement' for great values, and there were lots of them.
The store was most notorious for its annual wedding
gown sale, which featured the same high-end apparel, and came to be
known as "the Annual Running of the Brides"; because of the large crowds
that would form at the door, and the mad dash
that would take place toward the racks, when the doors
swung open. Filene knew how to
create sales excitement and shopping
frenzies in the department store space!
Part of Mr. Filene's great interest in the credit union movement was to help create a source of credit for working men and women, so that they could purchase some of the "small luxuries" in life "on installments." Fair and reasonably priced credit gave workers greater purchasing power... at places like Filene's Basement! Filene most certainly understood his
business, but more importantly he understood human nature, which made
his fortune!
In 1928 Filene was ousted from store management by his fellow
stockholders who were "troubled by his liberal management policies" ["like same price for all"]. Edward Filene was not "industry standard"! He died in 1937 and President Roosevelt had this (and more!) to say about him:
"Mr. Filene was more
than a champion of popular rights. He was a prophet who perceived the
true meaning of these changing times. He was able to make plain to us that our modern
mechanism of abundance cannot be kept in operation unless the masses of
our people are enabled to live abundantly. His democracy was more than a tradition. He did not repudiate the past, after the
fashion of some reformers, nor did he repudiate the future after the
fashion of those who fear reform. He believed in learning and searching
out the ways of human progress."
The store, on the other hand, became a victim of its initial success. Ultimately, Filene's was milked and me/me/me'd into oblivion by profiteers who "rebranded" Filene's from something quite different... into something which made no difference at all.
No presidential eulogy has been found praising their efforts...
A business no longer works, if it no longer really matters.
... especially credit unions.
