WAL-MART

Wal-Mart Diversity in Leadership

Background

Since the time of the Greek agora, local markets and retail stores have been at the heart of community life. They are a source of essential goods and services, as well as places to meet friends and neighbors. Retail stores are one of the few types of businesses that can be found in virtually every community. Their vitality is a good measure of the overall health of the local economy. This essay will focus on the history and growth of, as well as the controversy over, and community responses to, chain stores in the United States. (Byrnes, 2004)

There are two types of retail stores: chain stores and independent businesses. A chain store is one of multiple retail stores under the same ownership. All stores in a chain typically share a common name, range of merchandise, visual appearance, and method of operation. Many retail chains are publicly traded companies owned by stockholders. Some chains, such as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, are franchises; that is, each outlet is partly owned and managed by a local business person, who must share profits with the parent corporation and follow strict rules and uniform procedures governing every aspect of the business. (Byrnes, 2004)

History

Sam Walton (Walton) started WMT in 1962 by opening the first store in Rogers, Arkansas, USA. The company went public in 1972 and with the infusion of funds, By the end of the 1970s it jumped to 276 stores. In 1980, the sales revenue touched USD one billion. Exhibit 1illustrates the operating results for WMT in recent years.

Walton was focused on offering the lowest possible prices to his customers. He said, we will lower the living expense for everyone, if we work together. We will provide the world with an opportunity to observe what it's like to save and have a better life'. It was considered to be Wal-Mart's mission. In alignment with this philosophy, the company had been using the tagline 'Always low prices'. In September 2007, WMT changed its tagline to 'Save Money, Live Better'. The new organizational mission is to ensure that people save money so they can live better'. The culture of WMT was threaded to its three beliefs—'Individual Respect ', ' Customer Service' and 'Pursue for excellence'. These belief systems are based on the values of the company. (Byrnes, et al., 2004)

Industry Information

Chain stores first appeared in the late nineteenth century, but they did not become a significant force in U.S. retailing until the 1920s, when they underwent a substantial growth spurt. In 1900, chain stores accounted for only 3 percent of U.S. retail sales. By 1926, they were capturing 9 percent of sales, and by 1933, they controlled more than 25 percent of the market. The largest of these new retail companies was the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, a chain of grocery stores more commonly known as A&P. The company grew from 200 stores in 1900 to more than 15,000 outlets in 1929. Other large chains of the period included JC Penney (with ...