Pryce Pryce-Jones

Sir
Pryce Pryce-Jones
Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones
Born
Pryce Jones

(1834-10-16)16 October 1834
Llanllwchaiarn, Wales
Died11 January 1920(1920-01-11) (aged 85)
Newtown, Wales
OccupationBusinessman
Political partyConservative

Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones (16 October 1834 – 11 January 1920) was a Welsh entrepreneur who formed the first mail order business, revolutionising how products were sold. Creating the first mail order catalogues in 1861 – which consisted of woollen goods – for the first time customers could order by post, and the goods were delivered by railway.[1][2] The BBC summed up his legacy as "The mail order pioneer who started a billion-pound industry".[3]

Pryce-Jones became hugely successful in the United Kingdom where he had over 100,000 customers, which included Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria.[1] In England he was able to promise next-day delivery.[1] His business also took off overseas, selling Welsh flannel to the rest of Europe, the United States followed by Australia.[1] During the 1870s he took part in exhibitions all over the world, winning several awards, and he became world famous.[4] The Queen knighted him in 1887.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Pryce-Jones: Pioneer of the Mail Order Industry". BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Pryce Jones and the Welsh wool trade". BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2021. Ground-breaking, Newtown-based Pryce Jones produced the world's first mail order catalogue, exporting goods across the world.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC Jones was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Mail-order catalogue from Pryce-Jones". BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2019.