He called it Royal Velvet and in addition to the product attributes he created a marketing and merchandising plan that featured 20 colors, all of which were shown at the era’s department stores against the back wall. At a time when many towel programs were being sold three-for-a-dollar, he introduced a better-quality product that sold for $2.98 – for one. Tracy saw that the mill could never be a low-cost competitor to larger suppliers, so he developed a revolutionary solution. A Harvard Business School graduate following a humble upbringing in an Irish American family, Tracy went to work at Fieldcrest Mills in the 1950’s, at the time one of the smaller and itself more humble of the country’s vertical textiles mills. Tracy’s life in the home textiles industry spanned some 60 years.

His support to me in my years there provided me the ability to understand manufacturing and share a women’s view when products were in the development stage. “At Fieldcrest, David encouraged women to be a part of his team. One of those women was Gloria Lang, a long-time Fieldcrest executive who at one time was the highest-ranking female in the industry and is now retired. “Dave was also ahead of his time in recognizing the importance of women in the workplace,” he added, “elevating exceptional women to senior roles in his organization.” He was demanding, but a gentleman a man of principles and vision. “He mastered the power of design and innovation and drove new concepts like the towel wall and the Ralph Lauren Lifestyle in home, both concepts that endure to this day.

“Dave Tracy was truly a marketing genius,” said Steve Goldberg, now president of SCG & Associates and someone who knew Tracy well over the years in his role on the retail side of the business. “Every decision Dave made was for the strategic long-term benefit of Fieldcrest as a company and Royal Velvet as a major home textiles brand,” said Kevin Finlay, who went on to become president of the company after it was acquired by Pillowtex in the early 2000s and is now retired. Another industry executive who worked with Tracy, at Fieldcrest, had similar thoughts.

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