WHAT MAKES THE RETAIL KING PROFILE OF SAM WALTON: Sam Walton was an American businessman. In his early twenties, he began his training with J.C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1962 he opened his first retail store,Wal-Mart, in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1992, he had more than 1,700. Unlike other discount retailers, he opened stores in small towns where there was little competition. At the time of his death, he was thewealthiest man in the United States. Early Years: A pioneering businessman who broke convention and showed that large discount stores could thrive in small, rural areas, Samuel Moore Walton was born March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He was the first son of Thomas Walton, a banker, and his wife, Nancy Lee. Early in his life Walton and his family moved to Missouri, where he was raised. An able student and a good athlete, Walton quarterbacked his high school football team and was an Eagle Scout. Upon his graduation from Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, in 1936, his classmates named him "most versatile boy." After high school Walton University of Missouri in Columbia, where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1940. Early Retail Career: Following college, Walton got his first real taste of the retail world when took a job in Des Moines with the J.C. Penney Company, which was still a relatively small retailer. After serving as an Army captain in an intelligence unit during World War II, Walton returned to private life in 1945 and used a $25,000 loan from his father- in-law to acquire his first store, a Ben Franklin franchise in Newport, Arkansas. In less than two decades, Walton, working with his younger brother, James, came to own 15 Ben Franklin stores. But frustration over the management of the chain, in particular the decision to ignore Walton’s push to expand into rural communities, prompted him to strike out on his own. Building an Empire: In 1962 Walton opened his first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas. Success was swift. By 1976 Wal-Mart was a publicly traded company with share value north of $176 million. By the early 1990s, Wal-Mart’s stock worth had jumped to $45 billion. In 1991 Wal-Mart surpassed Sears, Roebuck & Company to become the country’s largest retailer. Walton was responsible for a lot of the success. His vision of a discount retail store in rural areas was accompanied by the founder’s hard-charging, demanding style. Walton, who often began his work days at 4:30 in the morning, expected results from those beneath him, and wasn’t afraid to change course or reshuffle his personnel if he didn’t like the numbers that came back to him. Even in the grips of a recession, Walton’s stores proved successful. In 1991, as the country was mired in an economic downturn, Wal-Mart increased sales by more than 40 percent. But that success also made Wal-Mart a target, especially for small-town merchants and other residents who argued the giant chain was wiping out a community’s smaller stores and downtown retail. Walton, however, tried to meet those fears head-on, promising jobs and donations to local charities, which the company often delivered in some fashion. INTRODUCTION TO WALMART: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc branded as Walmart, is an American multinational retailer corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's third largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2012. It is also the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world Walmart remains a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family who own a 48% stake in Walmart. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas Walmart is also the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 2009, it generated 51% of its US$258 billion sales in the U.S. from grocery business. It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehousesin North America. Walmart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under 55 different names. The company operates under the Walmart name in the United States, including the 50 states and Puerto Rico. It operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, in Japan as Seiyu, and in India as Best Price. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. Walmart's investments outside North America have had mixed results: its operations in the United Kingdom, South America and China are highly successful, whereas ventures in Germany and South Korea were unsuccessful. PRODUCTS OFFERED BY WALMART: Walmart U.S. does business in six merchandise units, including grocery, entertainment, health and wellness, apparel and home, across a range of store formats, including supercenters, discount stores, Neighborhood Markets and other small store formats. Grocery consists of a range of grocery items, including meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, floral and dry grocery, as well as consumables, such as health and beauty aids, baby products, household chemicals, paper goods and pet supplies. Entertainment contains electronics, toys, cameras and supplies, photo processing services, cellular phones, cellular service plan contracts and prepaid service and books. Hardlines consist of stationery, automotive accessories, hardware and paint, sporting goods, fabrics and crafts and seasonal merchandise. Health and wellness includes pharmacy and optical services. Apparel includes apparel for women, girls, men, boys and infants, shoes, jewelry and accessories. Home includes home furnishings, housewares and small appliances, bedding, home decor, outdoor living and horticulture. The Walmart U.S. segment also offers financial services and related products, including money orders, wire transfers, check cashing and bill payment. It also markets a range of merchandise under its private-label store brands, including Canopy, Equate, Everstart, Faded Glory, George, Great Value, Hometrends, Mainstays, Marketside, No Boundaries, Ol’ Roy, Ozark Trail, Parent’s Choice, Prima Della, Puritan, Spring Valley and White Stag. The Company also markets lines of merchandise under licensed brands, which include Better Homes & Gardens, Danskin Now, Disney, General Electric, Just My Size, OP, Rival and Starter. It accepts a range of payment methods, including cash, check, debit and credit cards, electronic benefits transfer cards, a private-label store credit card issued by a third-party provider and online payments through PayPal. In addition, its pharmacy and optical departments accept payments for products and services through its customers’ health benefit plans. WALMART CORPORATE MISSION: The corporate mission of Wal-Mart can be stated as follows: As Wal-Mart continues to grow into new areas and new mediums, our success will always be attributed to our culture. Whether you walk into a Wal-Mart store in your hometown or one across the country while you’re on vacation, you can always be assured you’re getting low prices and that genuine customer service you’ve come to expect from us. You’ll feel at home in any department of any store…that’s our culture. The company has three “Basic Beliefs” or core philosophies Sam Walton built the company on. Those beliefs are: (1) Respect for the Individual, (2) Service to Our Customers, and (3) to Strive for Excellence. Respecting the individual is a call for treating their employees well and pushing them to excel in what they do. The commitment to their customers is a goal whereby the stores respect a pricing philosophy to always sell items as low as they can while providing excellent customer service. The third belief is to strive for excellence, that is, to expand the store, innovate or reach further in to new markets and to grow. Other beliefs include, exceeding customer expectations with “aggressive hospitality” such as using door greeters. The store also features patriotic display and themes in its US stores. Another goal for the company is to support efforts in the local community via charitable contributions. Wal-Mart identifies several affiliations with charities such as the United Way and the Children’s Miracle Network. Operating divisions: Walmart's operations are organized into three divisions: Walmart Stores U.S., Sam's Club , and Walmart International. The company does business in nine different retail formats: supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise stores, bodegas (small markets), cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft discount stores and restaurants Walmart Stores U.S: Walmart discount store Walmart supercenter Walmart Stores U.S. is the company's largest division, accounting for $258 billion, or 63.8% of total sales for financial year 2010. It consists of three retail formats that have become commonplace in the United States: Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Walmart Markets. The retail department stores sell a variety of mostly non-grocery products, though emphasis has now shifted towards supercenters, which include more grocery items. This division also includes Walmart's online retailer Sam's Club: Sam's Club is a chain of warehouse clubs which sell groceries and general merchandise, often in large quantities. Sam's Club stores are "membership" stores and most customers buy annual memberships. However, non- members can make purchases either by buying a one-day membership or paying a surcharge based on the price of the purchase. Some locations also sell gasoline. The first Sam's Club opened in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma under the name "Sam's Wholesale Club".