The Pryce-Jones Company: Victorian Mail Order Pioneer and Modern Strategic Lessons.

June 12, 2025 Matthew Lee

Pryce Jones Royal Welsh Warehouse Entrance.

Introduction

Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones (1834–1920) founded the Pryce Jones company in 19th century Newtown, Wales, UK and revolutionised retail by launching the world’s first mail order business (Davies et al 2008, BBC, 2014). His entrepreneurial vision transformed a local drapery shop into a global enterprise, illustrating how clear strategic vision and innovative thinking can create enduring business impact. This article examines how Pryce-Jones’s innovations, business decisions, and adaptations reflect key elements of strategic thinking. We will look at the founding and growth of Pryce-Jones’s mail order model, a pioneering retail innovation that shaped modern commerce, and draw parallels between his historical strategies and contemporary strategic principles like innovation led disruption, first mover advantage, customer centricity, and operational scalability. The lessons from Pryce-Jones’s strategy remain remarkably relevant today, offering inspiration for modern business leaders.

Pryce Jones Royal Welsh Warehouse, Newtown.

From Local Draper to Global Mail Order Pioneer

Pryce-Jones started as an apprentice to a draper and took over his mentor’s shop in 1856 (Evans 2020). In 1859, he established his own drapery business, named the Royal Welsh Warehouse, coinciding with the arrival of the railway in Newtown (Davies et al 2008, Evans 2020, Shuttleworth 2020). Seeing opportunity in the new rail connection, Pryce-Jones began experimenting with selling by mail. Two years later in 1861, he mailed out his first catalogues, regarded as the world’s first mail order catalogues, allowing customers to order goods by post for home delivery (Shuttleworth 2020). This innovation effectively reinvented retail, customers outside the town, for the first time, could shop remotely. The BBC would later dub him “the mail-order pioneer who started a billion pound industry” (Shuttleworth 2020), highlighting Pryce-Jones model’s vast legacy in modern retail.

The mail order model was truly disruptive both in scale of offer and reach. Previously, shopping required a physical visit to a store, Pryce-Jones flipped that paradigm by letting the store come to the customer. He began modestly “sending out samples of his merchandise as well as leaflets with price lists to local customers” to test the idea (Patowary 2021). Early success led him to scale up, renting a larger warehouse by the railway and printing full catalogues (Patowary 2021). By reaching buyers through the postal system, Pryce-Jones unlocked demand well beyond his local market. Mail order proved “an ideal way of meeting the needs of customers in isolated rural locations” who could not easily travel to town (Davies et al, 2008). This innovation led disruption created a new channel of commerce, one that would later be emulated by retailers from Sears & Roebuck to today’s e-commerce giants.

Leveraging Network Effects, Logistics, and Technology for Advantage.

Integration of logistics was central to Pryce-Jones’s strategy, enabling operational scale and speed that competitors could not match at the time. The expanding Victorian railway network and postal reforms (e.g. the Uniform Penny Post of 1840) provided a platform for distribution (Davies et al 2008). Pryce-Jones strategically located his operations to capitalise on this infrastructure. In the 1860s, he was already dispatching orders by railway and parcel post, in fact, his business grew so large that the London & Northwestern Railway provided him with dedicated rail vans to carry parcels daily from Newtown to London, allowing next day delivery to much of England (in 1860’s!)(Patowary 2021). By integrating with the postal rail service, Pryce-Jones could promise a speed of delivery that was unheard of in that era and was a clear competitive advantage (Richards 2001).

Different centuries, same idea.

Pryce-Jones’s Royal Welsh Warehouse was built adjacent to the Newtown railway line in 1879, complete with its own post office and rail spur, to expedite mail order shipments (Evans 2020). This mirrors how Amazon’s modern fulfilment centres are strategically placed near transport hubs to enable rapid delivery (See the Map of Amazon Warehouses below). Both exemplify leveraging infrastructure for operational scalability and reach.

Map showing the location of Amazon Warehouses circa 2020.

Pryce-Jones’s investment in a purpose built warehouse paid off. The Royal Welsh Warehouse, expanded multiple times (1879, 1887, 1904), became a bustling distribution centre handling thousands of orders. It even housed an in house post office branch to streamline fulfilment (Patowary 2021). As one observer noted, “It was an equivalent of an Amazon warehouse today” – deliberately sited for transport access and designed for fast throughput (Evans, quoted in Shuttleworth 2020). Pryce-Jones also embraced cutting edge technology in his operations. His warehouse was equipped with its own electrical generator and one of the first sprinkler fire protection systems, reflecting a forward looking approach to industrial technology (Evans, in Shuttleworth 2020). He is even credited as the first person in Wales to have a telephone installed at his home, which he used to coordinate business, a remarkable early adoption of communication tech for business efficiency (Evans, in Shuttleworth 2020).

This savvy use of logistics and technology greatly increased operational scale. By 1880, Pryce-Jones had over 100,000 customers in the U.K. and was fulfilling orders across Europe, America, and Australia (Davies et al 2008, Shuttleworth 2020). At peak, he claimed to serve over 300,000 customers worldwide – an astonishing reach for a 19th-century enterprise (Richards 2001). He even secured large institutional orders, such as contracts to supply his patented “Euklisia Rug”, an all-in-one blanket considered the first sleeping bag, to armies in Britain and Russia (Patowary 2021). This capacity to scale up, from a local shop to an international mail order operation, was made possible by strategic investments in infrastructure and process innovation.

Notably, Pryce-Jones also helped shape the regulatory environment to support his model. He advised the government during the creation of the Post Office Parcels Act of 1882, leveraging his expertise to enable a national parcel post system (Richards 2001). By influencing policy, he ensured the logistics channels he depended on would be efficient and affordable, further cementing his competitive edge. This is an early example of a business leader proactively aligning external conditions (in this case, postal logistics policy) with company strategy.

Customer-Centric Practices and Market Expansion

At the core of Pryce-Jones’s strategy was a keen focus on customer needs and experience. His mail order business was fundamentally customer centric, aiming to make shopping more convenient for people who were underserved by traditional retail. Rural families and busy professionals of Victorian Britain often found it difficult to travel to distant market towns. Pryce-Jones recognised this pain point and addressed it by bringing the store to the customer. As one account noted, “Mail order was an ideal way of meeting the needs of customers in isolated rural locations”, freeing them from being “restricted [to] only buying goods when they could get into town” (Davies et al 2008, Shuttleworth 2020). This focus on solving a customer problem, accessibility, drove the adoption of his new service.

Pryce-Jones tailored his marketing and service to build customer trust and loyalty. For example, he would send swatches (sample fabric pieces) to prospective buyers so they could feel the quality of his Welsh flannel before purchasing (Evans, in Shuttleworth 2020). This early form of free sampling lowered the perceived risk of buying sight unseen and showed a commitment to customer satisfaction. He also curated his catalogue offerings to suit his audience’s preferences, featuring everything from local Welsh flannel products to the latest fashions of the day (Shuttleworth 2020). By inviting mail orders from “all classes of people all over the world” (Richards 2001), Pryce-Jones expanded his customer base beyond the wealthy elite. He effectively democratised shopping, treating customers of modest means in far flung villages with the same attentiveness as those in London or at court. This broad segmentation, serving both the local gentry (his initial base) and the mass market, was ahead of its time in recognising the lifetime value of a wider customer base. This also forms one of the tenets of social media marketing.

Moreover, Pryce-Jones leveraged social proof and personalised service to deepen customer engagement. His client list included prominent figures like Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria (Davies et al 2008, Patowary, 2021), and he did not hesitate to publicise these endorsements. He even named a special flannel fabric after Florence Nightingale to honour her patronage (a token of appreciation that also doubled as savvy marketing) (Patowary, 2021). Such gestures reinforced the notion that the customer was at the center of his business. The fact that Queen Victoria became a loyal customer, it was said she wore only Pryce-Jones’s Welsh flannel bloomers (Patowary 2021), further boosted the company’s credibility and appeal to shoppers. By highlighting testimonials from respected patrons in his advertising (Patowary, 2021), Pryce-Jones built trust with a broader audience, a practice analogous to today’s brands leveraging influencer endorsements and customer reviews.

Customer service was another area of strategic focus. Pryce-Jones understood that reliable fulfilment would make or break trust in mail order shopping. His promises of next day delivery within much of England (thanks to the dedicated railway vans) and generally speedy dispatch were crucial in convincing customers to buy remotely (Patowary 2021). In essence, he set and met customer expectations in delivery times, much as modern e-commerce firms compete on fast shipping. Indeed, Pryce-Jones’s eventual knighthood in 1887 by Queen Victoria can be seen as a testament to the quality of service he provided to one of his most prominent customers (Richards 2021).

Finally, Pryce-Jones continually sought new markets to serve, reflecting a growth mindset anchored in understanding customer segments. After saturating the UK and European market, he looked to America and the British colonies, adapting his sales approach to foreign customers (e.g. offering goods suited to their needs and climates) (Davies et al 2008). By the 1870s, his mail order catalogues were reaching households as far as Australia (Davies et al 2008). This global vision, essentially viewing the entire world as his market, was radically customer centric for its day. He believed that anyone, anywhere could be his customer if provided convenient access and reliable service. This principle is a cornerstone of modern customer centric strategy, which seeks to remove barriers between the customer and the product regardless of geography.

Enduring Strategic Insights and Modern Parallels.

Pryce-Jones’s business journey encapsulates several timeless strategic principles. His story may be over 150 years old, but it offers striking parallels to the playbooks of today’s market leaders. Key strategic insights from the Pryce-Jones case include:

Innovation-Led Disruption. Pryce-Jones pioneered a new retail model, mail order catalogue shopping, that disrupted the traditional shopkeeping industry. By leveraging the postal system and railways, he created a new value network that competitors initially couldn’t replicate. This is analogous to how later disruptors like online retailers changed the rules of retail. His entrepreneurial leap in 1861 prefigured the digital disruptions of today, indeed, one historian quipped that Pryce-Jones “effectively set up a company similar to today’s Amazon” in rural Wales (Shuttleworth 2020). The lesson. True innovation in business model or delivery can redefine an industry and confer lasting benefits.

First Mover Advantage. As the first mover in mail order retail, Pryce-Jones enjoyed significant advantages. He had no direct competitors initially, allowing him to acquire over a hundred thousand customers and build strong brand recognition before others entered the field (Patowary, 2021). This early start let him establish infrastructure (like his warehouse and logistics processes) and customer loyalty that would be difficult for latecomers to match. He also secured prestigious clients such as royalty and famous figures early on, further entrenching his market leadership through social proof. His experience underscores how being first to market, when coupled with effective execution and a great product, can create an enduring competitive moat. It is a principle echoed in modern tech and retail markets, where companies like Amazon or eBay benefited greatly from early entry and network effects.

Customer Focus. Pryce-Jones built his strategy around the customer’s convenience and needs. He identified a neglected customer segment, namely remote and time poor shoppers, and solved their problem by offering shopping “anywhere by post” (Davies et al 2008). He maintained quality and trust through tactics like sending samples and honouring customer preferences. Importantly, he treated customer service as a core competency, evident in how he “looked after his best customers” with personal touches (Evans 2020). This focus on customer centric innovation is directly relevant to contemporary strategy. Today’s most successful firms from Amazon and Apple to Shopify obsess over user experience and loyalty. Pryce-Jones’s ability to build a loyal global customer base in the 19th century demonstrates the power of customer centric thinking as a driver of growth.

Operational Scalability. The Pryce Jones company exemplified scalability by growing from a one room shop to a worldwide mail order operation. Pryce-Jones achieved this by investing in scalable infrastructure (a large warehouse, dedicated transport links) and adopting technologies that improved productivity (telephone, and mechanised systems) (Evans 2020). He also adapted his organisation to handle increasing volume, for instance, establishing an in house postal department and expanding warehouse space repeatedly as orders grew (Patowary 2021). His ability to scale operations efficiently meant that growth did not overwhelm the business but instead fed into further success. This mirrors modern strategic principles of scalability, where companies design systems and supply chains that can rapidly expand to meet demand. From cloud computing scaling digital services to Uber scaling its ride network, the underlying idea is the same.  Build capacity ahead of demand and leverage partners/infrastructure to support rapid growth. Pryce-Jones showed this in Victorian times by partnering with the national railway and postal services and later influencing postal policy, a precursor to today’s public private logistics innovations.

Conclusion.

Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones’s story is more than a historical footnote, it is a masterclass in strategic vision and execution. Facing the constraints of a small town environment, he envisioned a bold new way of doing business and pursued it with relentless innovation. His mail order enterprise disrupted the status quo, delivered unique value to customers, and scaled to global heights, all while leveraging the latest infrastructure and technology available. In doing so, Pryce-Jones demonstrated the timeless power of strategic principles.  He combined innovative thinking, timing and first mover initiative, deep customer insight, and operational excellence. The result was a company that, for a time, turned a rural Welsh town into a “major centre of international trade” (Shuttleworth 2020).

Modern business leaders can draw inspiration from Pryce-Jones’s example. His willingness to think big, to imagine customers well beyond his immediate market, and to invest in fulfilling that vision, reflects a clarity of strategy that remains rare and valuable. The fact that commentators compare his warehouse to an Amazon distribution centre and his business model to e-commerce underscores the enduring relevance of his approach (Evans 2020). In an age of digital marketplaces and global supply chains, the fundamentals exhibited by the Price Jones company in the 1800s are as pertinent as ever. Great strategy is about identifying opportunity, solving real customer problems, and scaling up effectively, and that is exactly what Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones accomplished. His legacy, though not widely known, offers a powerful reminder that a clear strategic vision, executed with innovation and customer focus, can create an enterprise that not only succeeds in its time but also pioneers a blueprint for the future of industry.

If you have been inspired by the story of Pryce-Jones and would like to start your own strategic innovation but are unsure where to start reach out and have a conversation hello@BirchTreeAssociates.co.uk.  We specialise in innovation lead strategy development and delivery.

References.

There are some great images of the warehouse and company publications in the reference articles.

Richards, M. (2001). “Pryce-Jones, Sir Pryce (1834–1920), pioneer of mail-order business.” Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales. Available online at biography.wales.

Shuttleworth, P. (2020). “Christmas: The mail-order pioneer who started a billion-pound industry.” BBC News, 25 Dec 2020. Christmas: The mail order pioneer who started a billion-pound industry - BBC News

Patowary, K. (2021). “The Victorian Mail Order Business.” Amusing Planet, 12 Jan 2021. https://www.amusingplanet.com/2021/01/the-victorian-mail-order-business.html

Evans, J. (2020). Remarks as Curator of Newtown Textile Museum, quoted in Shuttleworth (2020) BBC News article. Christmas: The mail order pioneer who started a billion-pound industry - BBC News

Davies, J., Jenkins, N., Baines, M., & Lynch, P. (eds.) (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, University of Wales Press – entry on Pryce-Jones (pp. 973–974). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pryce_Pryce-Jones

BBC (2014). “Pryce-Jones: Pioneer of the Mail Order Industry.” BBC Legacies (Mid Wales), 28 Oct 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pryce_Pryce-Jones