Sol Price, Warehouse Store Pioneer, Dies at 93

Sol Price, the founder of America's first warehouse store, died at his home in La Jolla, Calif. Monday. He was 93.

It's hard to overestimate Price's impact on American retail. The warehouse store trend -- which inspired Home Depot (HD), Wal-Mart (WMT), Sam's Club, Best Buy (BBY) and numerous other low-overhead imitators -- got its start with this business lawyer-turned-retail magnate. In fact, rival Sam Walton openly admitted that he "borrowed" many of his ideas from Price's "Price Club" chain and Costco (COST) founder Jim Sinegal -- who later merged with Price Club -- got his start working at one of Price's "Fed Mart" Chain stores.