Sam Walton and Accounting
Wal-Mart has grown to become a household name across the world over the past five decades due to the great success by its organizer, Sam Walton. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the United States and continues to grow as it expands into several other markets. Wal-Mart has created several great marketing campaigns such as “Rollback” and their promotion of outstanding customer service, but it is the accounting techniques used by Sam Walton throughout his career which inevitably led to the organization’s success (Walton, 2014).
Sam Walton, born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, showed great ambition as a young adult being voted “Most Versatile” in his high school class. He then went on to earn a degree in economics from the University of Columbia in Missouri in 1940. Walton’s first entrepreneurial venture was the purchase of a Ben Franklin franchise in Newport, Arkansas. This small venture then grew to the expansion of owning 15 Ben Franklin franchises. Walton became frustrated over the business decisions of the franchise’s management and decided to begin a new journey. In 1962, he opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas and it quickly grew. Over the years, Wal-Mart surpassed all of its retail competitors and became the leader in the United States (“Sam Walton”, 2008).
Walton’s initial accounting concept of entering the retail market at discount pricing is what greatly contributed to the success of the company. Walton wanted to create a store which customers could find all of the products they desired in one location at low pricing. His ownership of Ben Franklin franchises prevented him from pursuing his low pricing concept which he believed would be greatly successful. Focusing placement of these stores in smaller communities allowed Wal-Mart to enter into a location where strong competition was limited. This also allowed the store to quickly gain support of customers. Building stores in these small towns also reduced his overhead due to lower cost of
Sam Walton, born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, showed great ambition as a young adult being voted “Most Versatile” in his high school class. He then went on to earn a degree in economics from the University of Columbia in Missouri in 1940. Walton’s first entrepreneurial venture was the purchase of a Ben Franklin franchise in Newport, Arkansas. This small venture then grew to the expansion of owning 15 Ben Franklin franchises. Walton became frustrated over the business decisions of the franchise’s management and decided to begin a new journey. In 1962, he opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas and it quickly grew. Over the years, Wal-Mart surpassed all of its retail competitors and became the leader in the United States (“Sam Walton”, 2008).
Walton’s initial accounting concept of entering the retail market at discount pricing is what greatly contributed to the success of the company. Walton wanted to create a store which customers could find all of the products they desired in one location at low pricing. His ownership of Ben Franklin franchises prevented him from pursuing his low pricing concept which he believed would be greatly successful. Focusing placement of these stores in smaller communities allowed Wal-Mart to enter into a location where strong competition was limited. This also allowed the store to quickly gain support of customers. Building stores in these small towns also reduced his overhead due to lower cost of
References: (2008). “Sam Walton: Bargain Basement Billionaire.” Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197560 Tedlow, Richard S. (2001). “Sam Walton: Great From the Start.” Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2375.html Walton, Samuel M. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 08:46, Jul 28, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/sam-walton-9523270.