Wal-Mart's History and Impact

A detailed Summary of Wal-Mart's History and Impact

Sam Walton, in founding the Wal-Mart Corporation, not only changed the face of business in Arkansas but retailing and business as a whole on the planet. The Wal-Mart epic has been nothing short of a unique business phenomenon. Sam Walton single handedly turned a dying Ben Franklin Five and Dime store into a multi-billion dollar corporation without compromising his own ethics and morals, and became one of the world's largest and most generous philanthropists and, for a time, the richest man in the United States of America. Wal-Mart has also been criticized for its effects on small town so called "mom and pop" businesses and several studies have been performed analyzing said effects. These small town effects can be expected when more than 93 million people a week (Slam-Dunking) flock to Wal-Marts around the country to shop their unmatchable prices. Of course, one of Wal-Mart's keys to success has been their lack of competition. Wal-Mart did what their competitors would have never thought to do- build in rural areas where people are being forced to drive 20 to 30 miles to shop for groceries. Building in rural communities created an economic and social center for the community without the element of compet

The Wal-Mart epic is a completely unique tale that no one would have believed had they not grown up in a Wal-Mart. A small business man takes over a failing franchise and turns it around by underselling his competitors, then sets up his own business in competition with a franchise of the same blood as his former and puts it to shame with his ingenious business notions revolving around the customer. His ethics and ideologies are then manifested with the expansion of his store in Rogers, Arkansas, my hometown. This expansion continues exponentially, making its founder the richest man in America for a time, though you'd never suspect it from his old pickup truck and tattered "Wal-Mart" hat. Despite his success, his ethics and values are still present in Wal-Mart stores today, even after his passing. No matter the volume of success, Walton's feet never left the ground as his protege corporation soared and shattered records, allowing mere cashiers to retire millionaires with Wal-Mart stock. Sam Walton himself said, "Here's what makes me laugh today: it would have been absolutely impossible to convince anybody back then that in thirty years most all of the early discounters would be gone, ... that the one to fold up would be Woolco, and that the biggest, most profitable one would be the one down in Arkansas. Sometimes I even have trouble believing it." (Walton, 49). Wal-Mart's uniquity in the business and retail world is undeniable. No other company in the world has ever come from such meager, niggardly beginnings and evolved in to a Fortune 500 company earning $218 billion in the most recent fiscal year alone. Bill Fields, former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores and Wal-Mart employee for 25 years, attributed the company's unique advantage to the "practices and philosophies Sam Walton built his business upon." (Fields). William Fields knows this first hand; he began his career with Wal-Mart in 1971 as assistant manager and quickly climbed his way up the Wal-Mart ladder. He worked in Merchandizing, Sales, and even as Sam Walton's personal assistant. He eventually reached the position of CEO of Wal-Mart Stores which he left in 1996. Walton often sent Bill Fields to China on importing ventures, which gave him the resources and connections to found a company known as APEC Ltd., a company which handled foreign relations for American companies with the Communist Chinese Government. His valuable experience and knowledge gained at Wal-Mart gave Fields his own advantage in the world of business. According to Fields, Walton's and thus Wal-Mart's unique philosophies that established his business as it is today can be summarized in four basic principles:

ition and created several hundred jobs for members of the community.

II. Products- selling what th

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Approximate Word count = 1862
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History