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If Sam Walton's life were a novel, you would dismiss it as corny and unbelievable. But his story is a real one and as classic an American tale as you will ever read.
He grew up on a farm, worked to help support his family, had a stellar academic record and then went off to serve his country, rising to the rank of Captain in the US Army intelligence corps.
Upon his return from service, Walton took $5,000 of his own savings and borrowed $20,000 to buy his first department store. Walton sold out five years later (doubling his initial investment) and then opened the first Walton's 5 and 10 in 1950.
In quick order, Walton added one store and then another and another. The Wal-Mart chain began in 1962 and grew steadily through the decades. It was in the 1970s, though, that Wal-Mart enjoyed its most explosive growth. The company went public in 1970 and by 1979 had grown to 276 stores and had passed the $1 billion mark in sales.
His success was based on the principles of selling as many different products as possible and selling them as cheaply as he could. Through efficiencies in purchasing, staffing and even the structure of his stores, Walton was able to offer his goods at prices well below the competition. He kept his employees happy and motivated with profit-sharing plans (an innovation at the time).
"The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want," Walton said. "And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything."
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