Sam Walton

Small Town, Big Success Today, only a small number of people know by whom and where Wal-Mart, the world’s most famous shopping center, was founded. Sam Walton, a young man who lived in Arkansas worked daily with his mother and father to keep the family financially stable. He did this by delivering milk, selling magazines, pigeons and rabbits. Sam Walton is the founder of Wal-Mart which opened in the summer of 1962. First of all, “Samuel Moore Walton was born March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee Walton (Von Bergen, 1). As stated before, Walton helped the family earn money by doing small jobs around the town, which helped him learn the value of a dollar. Sam participated in many sports and was also
Sam Walton bestowed upon his Wal-Mart Corporation “the simple fact that they mean what they say and they’re committed to doing it,” (Vosburgh, 1). For example, “He promised his employees he would dance a hula at high noon on Wall Street if the company achieved its profit goals in 1983. It did, and he kept his word,” (Von Bergen, 3). Walton had opened stores by 1966 and 276 by 1979, which showed that Wal-Mart was making great success and good profits. In 1991, the year Wal-Mart became the largest retailer in the country; Walton decided to pass the business down to his children. This occurred after he had been diagnosed with bone cancer that was fatal. He also started the first Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Supercenter between the years of 1983-1998. Sam’s Club store was created out of admiration of Price Club store. Although Sam Club’s comes second in sales in the warehouse club industry, “ some people have gone so far as to call Sam’s Club a ‘stepchild’,” because it is a $40 billion business (Springer, 1). It has “high-quality, brand name products at rock-bottom prices,” (Vance, 119). Also Wal-Mart has the largest truck and airport transporter system. “Much of the credit for the airport’s founding goes to a member of the Walton clan,” (Chandler, 78). Alice Walton support of $80 million helped underwrite revenue
“By necessity, as his company grew, Sam Walton was forced to hire his company leaders and employees from the local labor pool, which was comprised mostly of farmers, teachers, government workers, and rural business people…,” (Bergdahl, 1). Hiring inexperienced people was very charitable of Sam. This also helped him define his new strategy called hiring for attitude, training for results. Hiring for attitude shaped his employees into a high performing team. “Wal-Mart is one of the few big companies in America where it is still possible for an individual to join the company without bringing prior knowledge and experience and still have the chance to achieve his or her personal career dreams,” (Bergdahl, 2). Also the Walton Family Foundation, built on Wal-Mart money, plays a large role in the education system. “The foundation over the past decade has become a leading private donor to K-12 education,” (Robelen, 1). It has provided over $90 million in education grants and over $20 million in loans. The Walton Family Foundation has also provided funding to open charter schools. “The central focus of the foundation’s education work is to promote parental choice in low-income communities, where families often lack high-quality options,” (Robelen, 2). For example, “A $30,000 grant from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, will support The White Plains Performing Arts Center’s new Renaissance Theatre Academy,” (Renaissance Theatre, A8). This donation