The Biography of Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart
Sam Walton was born on March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on a small farm. When Walton was a young boy, his parents, Thomas and Nancy, decided that the farm wasn’t making enough of a profit. So, they packed up their family, sons Sam and James, and they moved to Missouri. Thomas went back to his old job of being a Farm Loan Appraiser.
Although Sam Walton wasn’t a gifted athlete, and he didn’t have the IQ of a genius, he worked hard to succeed at everything he did. He played basketball and football at Hickman High School in Columbia. He helped his team win the state title in 1935. Walton also studied in school and worked hard to become a honors student. (Walton would continue to use this same determination to become the founder of Wal-Mart.)
He also helped support the Walton family by milking their cow, bottling the milk, and selling it. In addition to that job, Sam Walton delivered newspapers.
Since times were tough, and his family needed the income he could provide, it would have made sense for Sam Walton to quit school and go to work fulltime. But, Walton was determined to finish high school and go to college. So, after graduation, he attended the University of Missouri where he majored in Economics.
Just like he had done in high school, Sam Walton excelled in college. He worked to pay his college tuition and support himself. He was also active in his fraternity, and in other school functions. Walton worked hard to become a member of the National Honor Society.
He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1940, and he got a job at a J.C. Penney’s in Des Moines, Iowa as a management trainee. It was at Penney’s that Sam Walton began to learn about the workings of a successful retail store. This experience would serve him well when he later became the founder of Wal-Mart.
In 1942, with World War II raging on, Walton quit his job knowing that he was going to be drafted into the military. In the meantime, he worked another job near Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was here that he met the future Mrs. Sam Walton. He and Helen Robson were married on February 14, 1943. The union produced son Samuel in 1944, son John in 1946, son James in 1948, and daughter Alice in 1949.
Sam Walton finally did enter the U.S. Army, and when his stint was up, he had earned the rank of captain. With some financial assistance from his banker father-in-law, Walton bought his first department store in Newport.
Just like his chain of Wal-Mart stores that would come later, Walton’s first store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers. Walton made his first store profitable by using some of the same tactics he would later use in his Wal-Mart stores:
1. Walton located his store so that it was accessible to many people who lived in the area.
2. He made sure his store shelves were kept stocked with popular items people wanted and needed.
3. Sam Walton kept his prices down by buying his stock at wholesale prices.
4. His store was open longer hours than his competitors’ businesses.
Unfortunately, Walton leased the building his store was housed in. His landlord saw how successful Walton was, so he refused to renew his lease. The landlord bought the store, and the former store owner bought a store in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Besides owning and operating “Walton’s 5 & 10 ” store, Sam Walton became active in community affairs in their new town.
With the success of his “5 & 10”, Sam Walton continued to use his winning tactics to open even more stores.
Finally, in 1962, Sam Walton opened the doors of his first Wal-Mart department store in Rogers, Arkansas. And, the rest of his biography, is history.
The founder of Wal-Mart died in 1992, but today, Wal-Mart stores boast over $300 billion a year in sales. There are 3,800 stores in the United States, and nearly 4,000 additional stores worldwide. Wal-Mart employs more than 1.5 million people.
Behind each and every Wal-Mart store is Sam Walton’s hard work and success.
