History of Retail

History of Retail “Retailing consists of the final activities and steps needed to place merchandise made elsewhere into the hands of the consumer or to provide services to the consumer” (Dunnel/Lusch, 2008). The retail organizations that will be discussed in this paper will be Wal-Mart Stores Inc. This paper will examine the history of Wal-Mart, outline major events and the organization’s evolution in the global environment. I will also discuss how Wal-Mart has reacted to change in technology, including e-business and discuss the similarities and differences between the management of Wal-Mart. The History of Wal-Mart Sam Walton was a leader with a vision started this company in 1969 and made it into the leader in discount retailing it is today. No one could have predicted the huge success the discount store would have. Because of Sam Walton’s gift in discount retailing made Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer and the world’s number one retailer in sales. Sam Walton originally started the company as a discount city store and opened the first store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas (Walmart Evolution, n.d.). It was in 1969 when the company was incorporated as Wal-Mart Store, Inc. and opened a home office and distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas. Sam Walton had a reputation for caring about his employees, customers, and the community. After the death of Sam Walton, the executives continue to adhere to the management guidelines he developed and continued to be successful.
Major Events in Wal-Mart Development
The major event in Wal-Mart Development was when Wal-Mart stores became incorporated on October 31, 1969 and then in 1970 opened the home office and distribution center. This was when 38 stores operated with 1,500 employees and sales of $44.2 million dollars (Walmart Evolution, n.d.). Wal-Mart then started trading stock publicly and was listed on the New York Exchange. This is when the growth of Wal-Mart began. Wal-Mart’s operational are divided