DELA RAGA, MARLO

BSECE - 4

Walmart as we know it today evolved from Sam Waltons goals for great value and great
customer service. Mr. Sam, as he was known, believed in leadership through service. This
belief that true leadership depends on willing service was the principle on which Walmart was
built, and drove the decisions the company has made for the past 50 years. So much of
Walmarts history is tied to the story of Sam Walton himself, and so much of our future will be
rooted in Mr. Sams principles.

The Road to Walmart

Sam Walton was born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In 1942, at the age of 24, he joined the
military. He married Helen Robson in 1943. When his military service ended in 1945, Sam and
Helen moved to Iowa and then to Newport, Arkansas. During this time, Sam gained early retail
experience, eventually operating his own variety store.

In 1950, the Waltons left Newport for Bentonville, where Sam opened Waltons 5&10 on the
downtown square. They chose Bentonville because Helen wanted small-town living, and Sam
could take advantage of the different hunting seasons that living at the corner of four states had
to offer.

Inspired by the early success of his dime store, and driven to bring even greater opportunity and
value to his customers, Sam opened the first Walmart in 1962 at the age of 44 in Rogers,
Arkansas.

Changing the Face of Retail

Sam's competitors thought his idea that a successful business could be built around offering
lower prices and great service would never work. As it turned out, the company's success
exceeded even Sam's expectations. The company went public in 1970, and the proceeds financed
a steady expansion of the business. Sam credited the rapid growth of Walmart not just to the low
costs that attracted his customers, but also to his associates. He relied on them to give customers
the great shopping experience that would keep them coming back. Sam shared his vision for the
company with associates in a way that was nearly unheard of in the industry. He made them
partners in the success of the company, and firmly believed that this partnership was what made
Walmart great.

As the stores grew, so did Sam's aspirations. In addition to bringing new approaches and
technologies to retail, he also experimented with new store formatsincluding Sam's Club and
the Walmart Supercenterand even made the decision to take Walmart into Mexico. Sam's
fearlessness in offering lower prices and bringing Walmart's value to customers in the U.S. and
beyond set a standard for the company that lives on to this day. His strong commitment to
service and to the values that help individuals, businesses and the country succeed earned him
the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.

It was during Sam's acceptance remarks that he articulated what would come to be Walmart's
official company purpose.