Sam Walton

REUTERS / RICK WILKING - stock.adobe.com

Sam Walton: The Genius Behind WalMart

Around the world, when you hear the name of WalMart, people think about a global retail giant. With over 5,700 retail outlets worldwide, it is the largest retailer in the world. But not many people know about the founder and driving force behind the store. His name is Sam Walton and he is the genius behind the company that became one of the leaders in retail marketing and sales.

Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. During the early years, Walton and his family lived on a farm until he was five years old, when his parents gave up the farm and opened up a business in Missouri. When the Great Depression hit, the family ended up moving from town to town in the Midwest trying to make ends meet. During this time, Walton began working a variety of small jobs to earn money to help the family.

After high school, Walton attended the University of Missouri to begin his path to the business world. There he majored in Economics and upon graduation he became part of the management training program at J.C. Penney. This got his start in the business world and on the path of success. Unfortunately, his early business career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Walton was recognized for his leadership ability during World War II, and he was chosen to become a member of the Army Intelligence Corp. During his time in the Army he rose to the rank of Captain.

Upon leaving the Army, Walton started his business career by purchasing a Ben Franklin store in Newport, Arkansas. He began to use some of his ideas about business by offering a large array of products at prices that were lower than competitors. His idea was to increase profits by increasing the amount of sales. His ideas became so successful that he opened up a chain of Ben Franklin stores in neighboring states.

The next step in the business career of Sam Walton came in 1962 when he opened his first of thousands of WalMart stores. The location in Rogers, Arkansas gave Walton the blueprint on how he could operate department stores where shoppers could find products at low prices. This became the brand that Sam Walton and WalMart has been known for back in 1962 and today.

In 1992, Sam Walton died of a heart attack, but WalMart and the ideas that Sam Walton had continue today and has led to them being one of the most powerful corporate forces in the business world. Al thanks to the genius of Sam Walton.