Contemporary Business Issues II WEEK 11 WALMART WALMART

Contemporary Business Issues II WEEK 11 WALMART

WALMART

WALMART Walmart as we know it today evolved from Sam Walton’s goals for great value and great customer service. “Mr. Sam, ” as he was known, believed in leadership through service. This belief that true leadership depends on willing service was the principle on which Walmart was built, and drove the decisions the company has made for the past 50 years. So much of Walmart’s history is tied to the story of Sam Walton himself, and so much of our future will be rooted in Mr. Sam’s principles. (corporate. Walmart. com)

The Road to Walmart Sam Walton was born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In 1942, at the age of 24, he joined the military. He married Helen Robson in 1943. When his military service ended in 1945, Sam and Helen moved to Iowa and then to Newport, Arkansas. During this time, Sam gained early retail experience, eventually operating his own variety store. In 1950, the Waltons left Newport for Bentonville, where Sam opened Walton’s 5&10 on the downtown square. They chose Bentonville because Helen wanted small-town living, and Sam could take advantage of the different hunting seasons that living at the corner of four states had to offer. Inspired by the early success of his dime store, and driven to bring even greater opportunity and value to his customers, Sam opened the first Walmart in 1962 at the age of 44 in Rogers, Arkansas.

Changing the Face of Retail Sam's competitors thought his idea that a successful business could be built around offering lower prices and great service would never work. As it turned out, the company's success exceeded even Sam's expectations. The company went public in 1970, and the proceeds financed a steady expansion of the business. Sam credited the rapid growth of Walmart not just to the low costs that attracted his customers, but also to his associates. He relied on them to give customers the great shopping experience that would keep them coming back. Sam shared his vision for the company with associates in a way that was nearly unheard of in the industry. He made them partners in the success of the company, and firmly believed that this partnership was what made Walmart great.

Changing the Face of Retail As the stores grew, so did Sam's aspirations. In addition to bringing new approaches and technologies to retail, he also experimented with new store formats—including Sam's Club and the Walmart Supercenter—and even made the decision to take Walmart into Mexico. Sam's fearlessness in offering lower prices and bringing Walmart's value to customers in the U. S. and beyond set a standard for the company that lives on to this day.

Changing the Face of Retail

Walmart Timeline Walmart opens its first store in Rogers, Ark. Walmart begins American expansion, opening its first store outside Arkansas, with stores in Sikeston, Mo. , and Claremore, Ok. , Walmart opens its first distribution center, in Bentonville, Ark. By this time the company had over $44 million in sales. Walmart stock goes public for the first time, with the company's stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange, under the stock symbol WMT. Walmart opens a store in its 10 th U. S. state, in Illinois.

Walmart Timeline Walmart opens it first Sam's Club in Oklahoma, taking on Costco in the emerging market of "members only" retail outlets. In its 25 th year in business, Walmart is a global hit, with 1, 200 stores operating across the globe. The retailer earns $15. 9 billion in sales the same year. Walmart opens it first superstore, which combined traditional Walmart stores with a grocery store. In 1990, Walmart becomes the top retailer in the U. S. , and earns over $26 billion in product sales. Walmart goes global, opening a new store in Mexico City.

Walmart Timeline Founder Sam Walton dies, triggering a new path for Walmart as it expands globally at an increased pace, taking on more financing debt in the process. Walmart opens a new division called Walmart International to boost its store presence outside the U. S. Walmart finally opens a store in its 50 th U. S. state, with Vermont the last hold-out. The company is now a global retail powerhouse, with 675, 000 employees, almost 2, 000 stores, and has $93. 6 billion in sales revenues.

Walmart Timeline 1996: Walmart launches its first store in China, opening the gates to one of the most lucrative and emerging economies in the world. 1997: Walmart reaches $100 billion in sales. 1999: Walmart now has 1. 14 million employees, making it the largest employer in the world. 2002: Walmart sets a new record, with a single-day sales total of $1. 43 billion, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Walmart Timeline 2005: This year brings more record profits, with $312 billion in sales and more than 1. 6 million employers. 2007: Walmart makes a brand shift, eliminating its "Always Low Prices, Always" slogan in favor of "Save Money Live Better. " 2010: Walmart enters the video streaming business, with its purchase of Vudu, Inc. for $100 million. The following year cuts a new deal with Massmart Holdings to expand its operations in Africa. 2014: Store employees go on strike throughout the U. S. , opening the door to labor troubles. 2015: Walmart now employs 23 million employees with 11, 000 stores in 27 countries.

Walmart Timeline 2016: Walmart rolls out Walmart Pay, a digital-based payment tool for company customers who use it to pay for purchases with their smartphones. The same year, Walmart purchases Jet. com, an online retailer. 2017: To better compete with Amazon and e. Bay (EBAY) - Get Report , among other online retail platforms, Walmart introduces free two-day shipping. 2018: A company name change stands out in 2018, as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. gives way to Walmart Inc.