SAM WALTON: FACE BEHIND WAL-MART GROCERIES WORLDWIDE! INSIDE AMERICA’S WAL-MART BILLIONAIRE EMPIRE
SAM Walton, billionaire owner of Wal-Mart, America’s biggest grocery and one of the
wealthiest Americans that ever lived had a simple life, very calm, focused, visionary,
godly and consistent with his dream. Irrespective of the challenges he had as a young
retailer when he started, he never allowed anything or anyone to stop his aspiration.
Even after his death in 1992 with a net worth of $65bn, then second richest man in the
world after Bill Gates, his firm, Wal-Mart has become a lasting legacy not only for Americans,
Asians, Africans and other natives from continents around the world. Wal-Mart specialized
in name-brands at low prices and Walton was surprised at the success. Soon a chain of Wal-Mart
stores sprang up across rural America.
How he started as a young Retailer in his father’s shop
Naija Standard gathered that contrary to popular belief, Sam Walton (the founder of Wal-Mart)
was not from Arkansas. He was actually born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. He
was raised in Missouri where he worked in his father’s store while attending school.
This was his first retailing experience and he really enjoyed it. After graduating from
the University of Missouri in 1940, he began his own career as a retail merchant when he
opened the first of several franchises of the Ben Franklin five-and-dime franchises in Arkansas.
First Wal-Mart opened in 1962 & famous management style
Investigation by Naija Standard showed that this action by Walton led to bigger and better
things and he soon opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Walton’s
management style was popular with employees and he founded some of the basic
concepts of management that are still in use today. After taking the company public
in 1970, Walton introduced his “profit sharing plan”. The profit sharing plan was a
plan for Wal-Mart employees to improve their income dependent on the profitability
of the store. Sam Walton believed that “individuals don’t win, teams do”.
Wal-Mart empoyees offered stock & store discounts to encourage them
Naija Standard learnt that employees at Wal-Mart stores were offered stock options and store discounts
by Walton as a way of encouragement. These benefits are commonplace today, but Walton was among the
first to implement them. Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales.
He believed that by giving employees a part of the company and making their success dependent on the
company’s success, they would care about the company.
Wal-Mart had one billion dollars sale in 1980
Going by the success attained by Walton in the 1980s, Wal-Mart had sales of over one
billion dollars and over three hundred stores across North America. Wal-Mart’s unique
decentralized distribution system, also Walton’s idea, created the edge needed to further
spur growth in the 1980s amidst growing complaints that the “superstore” was squelching
smaller, traditional Mom and Pop stores. By 1991, Wal-Mart was the largest U.S. retailer
with 1,700 stores.Walton remained active in managing the company, as president and CEO
until 1988 and chairman until his death. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom shortly
before his death.
Walton died in 1992 & left Wal-Mart in wife, children care to manage
It was a sad story for the American bussiness community when the news was broken
that Walton died in 1992. And by being the world’s second richest man, behind Bill Gates,
he passed his company down to his three sons, daughter and wife. Wal-Mart Stores
Incorporated (located in Bentonville, Arkansas) is also in charge of “Sams Club”.
Wal-Mart stores now operate in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea,
China and Puerto Rico. Sam Walton’s visions were indeed successful. At the time of his
death in 1992, Sam Walton’s net worth was $65 billion which he left to his widow
and three children to inherit and manage.
Walton 10 business commandement Laws to Success
Naija Standard further gathered that Walton had a guiding policy that helped him
in his business success so far. This he called his 10 Commandement to business success.
It reads: 1.Commit to your goals, 2. Share your rewards, 3. Energize your colleagues,
4. Communicate all you know, 5. Value your associates, 6. Celebrate your success,
7. Listen to everyone, 8. Deliver more than you promise, 9. Work smarter than others
and 10. Blaze your own path.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a business note for enteprenueurs across the world that
with careful planning, hardwork,vision and diligence, success is attainable
in any field wahtsoever, no matter the challenge.
