Small shops create the richest families.
Speaking of robson walton, we should start with his father, sam walton, the founder of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart didn't exist when Fortune magazine began to select Fortune 500 companies from 1955. Half a century later, Wal-Mart became the number one retail giant among the world's top 500 companies.
Forty years ago, Wal-Mart was just a mom-and-pop shop in a small town in Kansas, USA. At present, Wal-Mart has 65,438+0,702 traditional chain stores, 952 supermarkets, 479 "Sam Club" stores and 20 "block market" grocery stores in the United States. In addition, there are 65,438+0,088 chain stores in other countries. The company has1140,000 employees, forming a powerful "Wal-Mart Empire".
1985 5438+00 In June, Forbes magazine listed sam walton as the richest man in the United States. Sam and Wal-Mart became the focus of American public attention overnight. A large number of reporters flocked to Sam's residence. However, when they saw that the richest man in the United States lived the simplest life, they couldn't help but be disappointed: Sam wore a cheap suit sold in his shop and drove an old pickup truck to work, with a kennel for hounds and a discounted baseball cap behind him.
It is such a "hillbilly" who created a wealth myth. By 200 1, the Walton family's total assets reached 93 1 billion dollars, making it the richest family in the world. Sam's wife and daughter are the top 10 women in the world billionaires list, and the names of five members of the Sam family have appeared on this list for many years.
19 18. sam walton was born in a small town in Arkansas, USA. When Sam was a child, his family was not rich, which made him form the habit of thrift. From 65438 to 0936, Sam entered the University of Missouri to study for a bachelor's degree in economics, and served as the president of the University Student Union. Sam, who served after World War II, returned to his hometown and borrowed $20,000 from his father-in-law. Together with the $5,000 saved by Sam when he was a soldier, he and his wife Helen rented several houses in Newport and opened a small shop specializing in goods ranging from 5 to 10 cents. Because Sam treats people kindly, all the residents nearby are willing to come to his shop to buy things.
1950, Mr. and Mrs. Sam sold their small shop with twice the investment and moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, where they opened a new store. Although the new shopping center is a franchise of Ben Franklin's chain store, the Waltons are named after the family: the Walton Family Store. To 1962, there are 15 department stores under their names. At that time, Sam and his younger brother James finally opened their first store, Wal-Mart, in Rogers City, Arkansas.
Wal-Mart was a great success from the beginning. In the first year, Bentonville's store turnover has reached $700,000. 1964 Wal-Mart had five chain stores, and in 1969 it increased to 18. Wal-Mart gives priority to small and medium-sized cities and large villages and towns. The business model is the same: low profit, low inventory, large quantity of goods, more efforts on cost and active use of information tools.
Sam insists on this belief: "As long as the store can provide the most complete goods and the best service, customers will flock to it." He put forward two requirements for employees: "the sun goes down" and "ten-foot attitude". "Sunset" means that every employee must complete the task of the day before sunset, and if the customer has requirements, he must also satisfy the customer before sunset; "Ten-foot attitude" means that when customers walk within 65,438+00 feet of employees, employees must take the initiative to ask customers what they want, and they must look them in the eyes when speaking. In addition, he also put forward ten business rules: operate wholeheartedly and be better than others; Share profits with colleagues; Motivate your colleagues; Discuss everything with colleagues; Appreciate colleagues' contribution to the company; Celebrate success, but don't lose heart if you fail; Listen to the opinions of everyone in the company; Exceeding customers' expectations, they will come again and again; Control cost is lower than that of competitors; Go upstream, find another way, and give up traditional ideas.
Sam has tasted the hardships of life since he was a child, and has already deeply rooted the concept of "cherishing every dollar" in his mind, which has had an impact on his later business style. He said, "We work side by side. That's the secret. We reduce the cost of living for each customer. We want to give the world a chance to see what it is like to improve everyone's life through savings. "
A stingy upstart.
Sam died in 1992. According to his will, his shares were distributed to his wife, three sons and a daughter. In the same year, Sam's family published his autobiography sam walton: Made in America, explaining the secret of his success. This book quickly sold well in America.
Perhaps Sam's son is the reader who has studied this book most thoroughly. In his book, Sam warned his grandchildren that if anyone dares to sell something that is a "toy" for many rich people, he will take this person to hell. Old Walton's sons all inherited his father's frugal character. Large American companies generally have luxurious offices, but the office in jim walton is only 20 square meters, and the office in robson walton is only 12 square meters. Moreover, the furnishings of their offices are so simple that many people describe Wal-Mart as "poor people open stores and poor people buy them".
Robson Walton is the chairman of Wal-Mart 1 1 year. 1966 graduated from the university of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in business administration. 1969 Master of Law, Columbia University. He used to be vice president, general counsel and vice chairman of Wal-Mart Department Store.
As the eldest of Walton's four children, Robson got his driver's license just as an adult, and then delivered goods to various retail outlets at night, which greatly saved his father's transportation expenses. At that time, all four children began to help their father. Unlike children of the same age, adults don't give pocket money, but they can earn it themselves. They knelt on the floor of the shop to clean the floor, repair the leaking roof and help unload the car at night. Father pays them as much money as the workers. Robson Walton now recalls that his father asked them to convert part of their income into shares in the store. After the store became prosperous, the children's meager investment turned into a lot of primary capital. By the time he graduated from college, Robson had been able to buy a house with luxury furniture with his own money.
1In April 1992, the experienced Robson became the chairman of Wal-Mart, which injected fresh blood into the development of Wal-Mart. According to the classified ranking of American service industry published by Fortune magazine in May, 1994, the sales of Wal-Mart 1993 reached US$ 67.34 billion, an increase of over US$1800 million over the previous year, surpassing Sears Department Store, which ranked first in 1992. 1995 Wal-Mart's sales continued to grow and set a world record for retail industry, achieving annual sales of $93.6 billion, ranking fourth in Fortune magazine 1995 list of the largest enterprises in the United States. In 200 1 year, Wal-Mart ranked second among the top 500 companies in the world. In fact, Wal-Mart's annual sales are equivalent to the sum of all department stores in the United States, and it still maintains a strong development momentum.
In addition to adhering to his father's established business philosophy, Robson also attaches great importance to relying on information technology to develop Wal-Mart. The famous Wal-Mart database is the largest civilian database in the world. With the help of this information system, Wal-Mart has established close contact with suppliers. From placing an order on the computer to putting the goods on the shelves, Wal-Mart stores are three days faster than their competitors on average, saving 2.5% of the cost. From 1996 to 1999, Wal-Mart's sales increased by 78%, while its inventory only increased by 24%. Today, Wal-Mart is not satisfied with the sales of 4,000 stores, but also pulls the front line to the Internet and further expands its territory to every corner of the world through e-commerce.
Robson, who became the richest man in the world, did not forget his father's teachings. Like his father, Robson is a very thrifty man. He lives in seclusion and drives an old trailer. A barber said, "I cut Walton's hair 85 times and he never gave me another penny." On the Wal-Mart website, there is not a photo of Robson. The rich man refused to be interviewed by reporters, and his press secretary refused to answer questions about Walton's private life. 200 1, The Sunday Times asked Wal-Mart headquarters three questions about Robson's private life: where does Robson currently live; Does he travel often? Does he have a yacht? A Wal-Mart spokesman reminded the newspaper that instead of getting any answers, it is better to ask some business-related questions.
The background of the news story
About Wal-Mart
1962 sam walton founded the company and opened the first Wal-Mart department store in Rogers City, Arkansas.
1969101October 3 1 day, Wal-Mart Stores Limited was established.
1970, the company established its headquarters and the first distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas.
1972 wal-mart's shares were approved for listing on the new york stock exchange.
1983 opened the first Sam member store in the midwestern city of Oklahoma.
Wal-Mart's satellite network was built in 1987, which is the largest private satellite system in the United States.
1988 the first wal-mart shopping plaza opened in Washington, Missouri.
1990 Wal-Mart became the largest retailer in the United States.
199 1 year, Wal-Mart opened its Mexico City store, and Wal-Mart began to enter overseas markets.
1on April 5, 992, Mr. sam walton passed away, and on April 7, S. robson walton became the chairman of the board of directors of the company.
1993 wal-mart international department was established.
The first week's sales 1993 12 reached $65,438 billion.
1997 Wal-Mart became the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
1997 Wal-Mart's annual sales exceeded100 billion USD for the first time, reaching 105 billion USD.
In 2000, it ranked fifth among the "most admired companies in the world" selected by Fortune magazine.
200 1 year, ranked third in "America's most admired companies" by Fortune magazine.
200 1 single-day sales hit a record, reaching 125 billion dollars the day after Thanksgiving.
Respondents: Wu Zhenyu 1 10- manager level 5- 12: 14.
Comments on the best answer
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Commentator: long 8358256- Level 1 of probation period
Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecommunications giant, has reached $67.8 billion in personal wealth in the second quarter of this year, surpassing Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 9 billion and becoming the new richest man in the world.