Sam Walton Entrepreneur

Sam Walton – the founder of the world’s largest retailer, Walmart. From Midwest origins, Sam Walton began his retail career as a sales trainee at a J.C. Penny in Des Moines, Iowa (Sam Walton). His boss once threatened to fire him, because his books were always a mess. But Mr. Walton cared more about customer service than organized books, but was not fired because he was such a good salesman, he “added about $25 per month in commissions to his beginner's salary (Sam Walton).” After being released from military service at the end of World War II, Walton moved to Newport, Arkansas and bought a Ben Franklin variety store. By 1950, he “owned the leading Ben Franklin store in a six-state region (Sam Walton).” His initial success with the Ben Franklin variety store was due to his policy of hard work and pricing products much lower than other retailers. His landlord eventually refused to renew the lease on Walton’s variety store because of the success – the landlord wanted his son to inherit the business (Sam Walton). Walton remained undefeated, however. His wife wanted to raise their children in a smaller
According to Entrepreneur, Walton's dogged pursuit of discounting revolutionized America's service economy. Walton didn't merely alter the way America shopped-he changed the philosophy of the American retail business establishment, instigating the shift of power from manufacturer to consumer that has become prevalent in industry after industry. His pioneering concepts paved the way for a new breed of "category killer" retailer-the Home Depots, Barnes & Nobles and Blockbusters of the world-and forever changed the face of retailing (Sam Walton).
In other words, Sam Walton changed the face of retail in America and was a pioneer in the field of