Chap. 1 Walmart's History

Chap 1 Walmart's History

"We save people money so they can live better"

Sam Walton opened his first store in 1950. His vision was to keep prices as low as possible. Even if his margins weren't as fat as competitors, he figured he could make up for that . 

In the early 1960s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. The company continued to grow, going public in 1970 and adding more stores every year. In 1990, Wal-Mart surpassed key rival Kmart in size. Two years later, it surpassed Sears.

Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and share budget-hotel rooms with colleagues on business trips, even after Wal-Mart made him very rich. He demanded that his employees also keep expenses to a bare minimum -- a mentality that is still at the heart of Wal-Mart culture more than a decade after Walton's death. The company has continued to grow rapidly after his death in 1992 and now operates four retail divisions -- Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart discount stores, Neighborhood Market stores and Sam's Club warehouses.

Michael Terry Duke currently is the   Ceo of Walmart. He became the Ceo in 2009.

Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people. Wal-Mart had sales of 421.849 billion in its most recent fiscal year, which ended January 31, 2011. By comparison, the second-largest retailer in the country, Home Depot, posted sales of  $67.997 billion , and sears 22.937 billion .

• Wal-Mart employ's 2.1 million people. In contrast, Home Depot has 321,000  employee's.