Sam Walton

Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was the founder of the giant American retailer Wal-Mart.

The first stores

In 1945, after leaving the military, Walton decided he wanted to own a department store. With some help from his father-in-law with a loan of $20,000, plus $5,000 he had saved from his time in the Army, Walton purchased a store in Newport, Arkansas. The store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers chain.

Related Topics:
1945 - Newport - Arkansas - Butler Brothers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was here that Walton pioneered many concepts that would prove to be crucial to his success. Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods at low prices. His store also stayed open later than most other stores, especially during the Christmas season. He also pioneered the practice of discount merchandizing by buying goods wholesale. This allowed him to buy goods at a lower price, which he passed on to his customers, which drove up his sales volume, which allowed him to negotiate even lower purchase prices with the wholesaler on subsequent purchases. All of these concepts were novel at the time, but Walton put them to practice and the success of his store proved them correct. Due to his innovative approaches, Walton's store led in sales and profits in the Butler Brothers six-state region. One factor that made this store successful was its central location, making it accessible to a wide range of customers; due to the store's enormous success, the landlord refused to renew his lease when it expired, desiring to pass the store onto his son. Walton sold the store back at over a $50,000 profit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before being forced to move out, Walton arranged for another location for a new store. Unable to secure a new location in town, Walton located a store in Bentonville, Arkansas. He would name this store "Walton's 5 & 10" and was a franchise of another one of the Butler Brothers chains, the Ben Franklin chain. Walton made several improvements to the store before it opened in 1950. Walton staged a "remodeling sale" before its official grand opening in March the following year. In 1951, the landlord of the Newport store took over operations and Walton and his family moved to Bentonville.

Related Topics:
Bentonville, Arkansas - Ben Franklin - 1950 - 1951

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Bentonville, the Waltons became involved in numerous civic activities. Walton served as president of the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was also elected to the city council, served on the hospital board, and launched a Little League baseball program in the city in 1954.

Related Topics:
Rotary Club - Chamber of Commerce - Little League - Baseball - 1954

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~