How did Sam Walton become successful?
Sam Walton was a child of the Great Depression, which likely influenced his determination to be successful in the business world and in life. After becoming the youngest Eagle Scout in Oklahoma history as an 8th grader, Sam took on several jobs to help out financially with his family’s needs.
What did William Walton do during the Great Depression?
In adult life, Walton became a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Eventually the family moved to Columbia, Missouri. Growing up during the Great Depression, he did chores to help make financial ends meet for his family as was common at the time.
How did Sam Walton become the richest man in America?
Sam Walton initially opened his stores in smaller communities than the other major retailers would touch. He added Sam’s Club to the business in 1983, and in 1985, Sam Walton was named the richest man in America by Forbes magazine. Wal-Mart became the nation’s top retailer in 1990.
How did Sam Walton get the money to buy his first store?
With the help of a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law, plus $5,000 he had saved from his time in the Army, Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas. The store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers chain.
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How did Sam Walton help the economy?
Acting on his vision of providing inexpensive goods to small-town markets, Walton soon opened his first Wal-Mart in 1962 in Rogers, Ark. By 1977, Illinois became the tenth state to have a Wal-Mart. By 1991, a year before Walton's death, Wal-Mart first opened an international store in Mexico City.
How did Sam Walton contribute to society?
Sam Walton, in full Samuel Moore Walton, (born March 29, 1918, Kingfisher, Oklahoma, U.S.—died April 5, 1992, Little Rock, Arkansas), American retail magnate who founded Walmart in 1962 and developed it, by 1990, into the largest retail sales chain in the United States.
How does Walmart benefit the economy?
The Walmart Effect also has its positive benefits; it can curb inflation and help to keep employee productivity at an optimum level. The chain of stores can also save consumers billions of dollars but may also reduce wages and competition in an area.
What made Sam Walton company successful?
Having found less expensive suppliers than Butler Brothers, he did not sell his products at prevailing prices. Instead, he discounted his merchandise, passing the savings he achieved on to the consumer, and made his profit on volume rather than on margin. "Simple enough," as Walton himself admitted.
How did Sam Walton change the world?
Founder of Walmart Stores Inc. Barnum, part Billy Graham, Sam Walton single-handedly built Walmart into the biggest retailer in the world, transforming the way Americans shopped and making himself one of the world's richest men in the process.
How much money did Sam Walton donate?
The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation is perhaps most known for its $300 million donation to the University of Arkansas in 2002, which at the time was the largest gift to a public university in the United States and the fifth largest to any education institution.
How does Walmart benefit society?
Each year, our U.S. stores and clubs award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000. These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of communities where we operate. They include a variety of organizations, such as animal shelters, elder services and community cleanup projects.
Is Walmart good for America and the world?
In short, Walmart is a driving force in the American economy leading to smarter, more streamlined production, and (as always) lower prices for consumers. The benefits of Walmart's efficiency are not only economic, as illustrated by the company's response to Hurricane Katrina.
What is the most significant benefit Walmart offers?
Financial Security On top of offering competitive pay, we have several financial benefits for associates to get the most out of their pay. Associate Stock Purchase Plan allows associates to purchase company stock, and the company matches a portion.
How did Walmart create its competitive advantage?
Walmart's supply chain management strategy has provided the company with several sustainable competitive advantages, including lower product costs, reduced inventory carrying costs, improved in-store variety and selection, and highly competitive pricing for the consumer.
What were the key success factors for Walmart to be successful in the retail industry?
Walmart's Competitive Advantage: 3 Key Success FactorsStrength in Both In-Store and Online Grocery Sales. ... Broad Financial Services Offerings. ... A Large Base of Customers That Buy Pet Products.
What made Walmart successful globally?
Founded and thriving on the principle of economies of scale, Walmart began selling for less in small rural towns that were ignored by other large retailers. Walmart offered products at cheaper prices than its competition.
What did Thomas Walton do during the Great Depression?
However, farming did not provide enough money to raise a family, and Thomas Walton went into farm mortgaging. He worked for his brother's Walton Mortgage Company, which was an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he foreclosed on farms during the Great Depression.
Where did Walton work?
In the meantime, he worked at a DuPont munitions plant near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Soon afterwards, Walton joined the military in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, supervising security at aircraft plants and prisoner of war camps. In this position he served at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Where is John Walton buried?
His remains are interred at the Bentonville Cemetery. He left his ownership in Walmart to his wife and their children: Rob Walton succeeded his father as the Chairman of Walmart, and John Walton was a director until his death in a 2005 plane crash.
How many stores did Sam Walton own?
By 1962, along with his brother Bud, he owned 16 stores in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas (fifteen Ben Franklin's and one independent, in Fayetteville). Sam Walton is regarded as one of the greatest project entrepreneurs in the retail chain industry. He had a great passion for learning.
How many stores did Walmart have in 1977?
Buying in volume and efficient delivery permitted sale of discounted name brand merchandise. Thus, sustained growth— from 1977's 190 stores to 1985's 800— was achieved. Given its scale and economic influence, Walmart is noted to significantly impact any region in which it establishes a store.
Where did Walton buy his first variety store?
With the help of a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law, plus $5,000 he had saved from his time in the Army, Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas.
Where did Sam Walton go to college?
After high school, Walton decided to attend college, hoping to find a better way to help support his family. He attended the University of Missouri as an ROTC cadet. During this time, he worked various odd jobs, including waiting tables in exchange for meals.
What philosophy did Sam Walton develop?
What Sam Walton developed was a complete philosophy of business, one he outlined in his autobiography, “Made in America: My Story.”.
Why did Walton refer to his employees as associates?
But Walton, who referred to his employees as associates to increase their stake in the company, worked to make some workers eligible for a share of the profits and stock options in the company. Associates also manage their own departments, keeping a watchful eye on stock and profits.
Why is Wal-Mart criticized?
Although many have applauded his business mind and the Walton Family’s philanthropic endeavors, Wal-Mart has also been criticized for enforcing bad labor practices and driving out mom-and-pop shops and wreaking environmental havoc due to the size of the stores .
How much of Sam Walton's stock will be donated to Wal-Mart?
Nonetheless, John Walton, one of Sam Walton’s children, told USA Today that the family expects to donate as much as 20 percent of their $100 billion in Wal-Mart stock.
When did Walton open his first store?
In 1945 with a $25,000 loan from his father-in-law, Walton opened his first store — a Ben Franklin arts and craft store in Newport, Ark. Walton and his brother, James, owned 15 Ben Franklin franchises by the early ’60s.
Where was Walton born?
History and Growth of Wal-Mart. Walton was born in Kingfisher, Okla. on March 29, 1918. While attending the University of Missouri at Columbia, Walton delivered papers, waited tables and worked at a five-and-dime store.
Who is Sam Walton's widow?
Sam Walton’s widow, Alice, and their four children hold the sixth through tenth spot on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest, each worth an estimated $20 billion. The family, the nation’s wealthiest, has also become the top philanthropist in the United States, especially in the area of education.
Why did Sam Walton not become a billionaire?
Everything he did seems so obvious. It seems that way because it is. Sam Walton did not become a billionaire because he was a genius (although he was without question smart, shrewd, and astute). The real explanation for his success was that he had the courage of his convictions.
How much did Sam Walton make at Ben Franklin?
In his fifth year at the Ben Franklin on Front Street in Newport, Arkansas, Sam Walton—the sucker Butler Brothers had been looking for—sold $250,000 worth of merchandise and made a profit of between $30,000 and $40,000.
Why did Holmes refuse to renew his lease?
However, Walton believed, probably correctly, that Holmes refused to renew his lease at any price because he saw how well the Ben Franklin was doing. He purchased the store's inventory and fixtures at what Walton himself concedes was "a fair price," $50,000. So Walton did not leave Newport empty-handed.
How much did Walton pay for Ben Franklin's store?
He paid a princely $25,000 to Butler Brothers to franchise a 5,000-square-foot Ben Franklin’s variety store. In this excerpt from Giants of Enterprise: Seven Business Innovators and the Empires They Built, author and HBS professor Richard S. Tedlow depicts the huge success Walton made of his first store—against all odds.
What was Sam Walton's first store?
Sam Walton's first store was a second-rate store in a second-rate town in what no one would have classified as a first-rate state. Millions, literally, of small stores failed during the course of the twentieth century in America. There were about 1.7 million retail establishments in the United States in 1945.
Who did John Dunham learn from?
He learned from Butler Brothers, from retail publications, and from his competitor, John Dunham, with his Sterling Store.
Who was Walton's father in law?
Options to renew were standard features of leases such as the one Walton had originally entered into. L. S. Robson, Walton's father-in-law, was reportedly shocked by Walton's mistake. Not only had Walton built a successful business in Newport, he had invested a lot of himself in the town.
Where was Sam Walton born?
Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher Oklahoma in 1918. From his humble beginnings, he rose and founded the largest retail empire in the world. He attended the University of Missouri at Columbia, graduating in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He served as a Captain in the Army Intelligence Corps from 1942 to 1945.
Where did Sam Walton go to college?
1918-Born March 29, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 1940-Graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a B.A. in economics. 1942 to 1945-Served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps.
How many children did Sam Walton have?
He served as a Captain in the Army Intelligence Corps from 1942 to 1945. He married his wife Helen in 1943, and they had four children over their 49 years together. Sam Walton was always interested in retail. He had early beginnings working at JC Penney as a management trainee before entering the Army.
What college is named for Sam Walton?
The University of Arkansas has a College of Business named for Sam that includes an informative and well-done site. Check out the list of Sam Walton’s 10 rules for success . A&E produced a televised Biography of Sam. The Walmart website includes a summary of Sam’s life, and links to buy a video of the biography.
How many employees does Wal-Mart have?
Then there are the rather drastic groups who feel he is evil, and leads a cult religion! Today Wal-Mart has over 1 million employees in the United States, and is expanding into the international market. Since 1991, over 2000 stores have opened outside the United States, and they employ over 280,000 people.
What year was Sam's Club opened?
1979-First billion dollar year in sales, total sales: $1,248,000,000. 1983- The first SAM'S club was opened in April in Midwest city, Oklahoma. 1983-First one hour photo lab opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1983-The "People Greeter" program is introduced in all stores.
Did Sam Walton have a life?
Despite his massive wealth, Sam Walton lived a consistent life. He still wore baseball caps, drove an old pick-up truck and enjoyed the outside in the company of his dogs He was always very charismatic, and was very popular from his school days on.
Overview
Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue as well as the biggest private employer in the world. For a period of time, Walton was the richest man in America.
Early life
Samuel Moore Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He lived there with his parents on their farm until 1923. However, farming did not provide enough money to raise a family, and Thomas Walton went into farm mortgaging. He worked for his brother's Walton Mortgage Company, which was an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance, where he foreclo…
The first stores
In 1945, after leaving the military, Walton took over management of his first variety store at the age of 26. With the help of a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law, plus $5,000 he had saved from his time in the Army, Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas. The store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers chain.
A chain of Ben Franklin stores
With the new Bentonville "Five and Dime" opening for business, and 220 miles away, a year left on the lease in Newport, the money-strapped young Walton had to learn to delegate responsibility.
After succeeding with two stores at such a distance (and with the postwar baby boom in full effect), Sam became enthusiastic about scouting more locations and opening more Ben Franklin franchises. (Also, having spent countless hours behind the wheel, and with his close brother Jam…
First Walmart
The first true Walmart opened on July 2, 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas. Called the Wal-Mart Discount City store, it was located at 719 West Walnut Street. He launched a determined effort to market American-made products. Included in the effort was a willingness to find American manufacturers who could supply merchandise for the entire Walmart chain at a price low enough to meet the foreign competition.
Personal life
Walton married Helen Robson on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1943. They had four children: Samuel Robson (Rob) born in 1944, John Thomas (1946–2005), James Carr (Jim) born in 1948, and Alice Louise born in 1949.
Walton supported various charitable causes. He and Helen were active in 1st Presbyterian Church in Bentonville; Sam served as an Elder and a Sunday School teacher, teaching high school age st…
Legacy
In 1998, Walton was included in Time's list of 100 most influential people of the 20th Century. Walton was honored for his work in retail in March 1992, just one month before his death, when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-President George H. W. Bush.
Forbes ranked Sam Walton as the richest person in the United States from 198…
See also
• Walton family
• List of wealthiest historical figures
• List of richest Americans in history