THE STORY OF WAL-MART
Many trace discount retailing birth to 1962, the first year of operation for Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart. But by that time, Sam Walton's tiny chain of variety stores in Arkansas and Kansas was already facing competition from regional discount chains. Sam traveled the country to study this radical, new retailing concept and was convinced it was the wave of the future. He and his wife, Helen, put up 95 percent of the money for the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, borrowing heavily on Sam's vision that the American consumer was shifting to a different type of general store.
Today, Sam's gamble is a global company with more than 1.3 million associates worldwide and nearly 5,000 stores and wholesale clubs across 10 countries. The "most admired retailer" according to FORTUNE magazine has just completed one of the best years in its history: Wal- Mart generated more than $256 billion in global revenue, establishing a new record and adding more than $26 billion in sales. The company earned almost $9.1 billion in net income and grew earnings per share by more than 15 percent.
In the 1980s, Wal-Mart became one of the most successful retailers in America. Sales grew to $26 billion by 1989, compared to $1 billion in 1980. Employment increased tenfold. At the end of the decade there were nearly 1,400 stores. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. branched out into warehouse clubs with the first SAM'S Club in 1983. The first Super center, featuring a complete grocery department along with the 36 departments of general merchandise, opened in 1988. Wal-Mart had become a textbook example of managing rapid growth without losing sight of a company's basic values. In Wal-Mart's case, the basic value was, and is, customer service.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ...