Here are 8 business strategies and 6 habits I learn from Sam Walton.
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What is Walmart?
Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, wanted to make a huge retail business empire, which today is known as Walmart. It has been 33 years since Sam Walton passed away, but his business, Walmart, is still run by his children and grandchildren. However, in 2025 this company is one of the biggest companies in this world, having thousands of stores worldwide and being the company in which the most number of people are employed. Additionally, Walmart is the highest-grossing revenue country from the last few decades as well as today in 2025, dominating other big companies like Apple and Amazon.
you can visit Walmart official website
Why Walmart is the highest revenue earning company from the last 3 decade?
Walmart is a retail company ,it supply basic need product which customer need to buy every month . Moreover, it cheap prices and expanding network make it the highest revenue earning company from last some decades.
How successful is Walmart?
Stats 2025 august ( Remember it is not 100 percent correct , it can be change time to time)
- 2o25 annual revenue 670 billion USD
- Number of Employs worldwide 2.1million + employs
- Countries 20+ worldwide
- Stores 10,600+ worldwide
- Buyout value 820 billions USD
Road to Walmart Short summary
Sam Walton was born on March 29, 1918, in USA .His father was a farmer who do farming on a small scale. However, from his childhood his family faces financial crises. As a child he started doing small works to earn money not as a child labour but as a contributor in his family. He also take part in the military for the defense of his country during WW2 (World War 2). Furthermore, after the war in 1945, he borrowed 20 thousand dollars from his father-in-law and 5 thousand dollars from his own savings; he bought the rights to operate the Ben Franklin store as well as other inventory to run that store. He rented the Ben Franklin store, for which the rent was too high, and the store was already in debt and on the verge of closing, but Sam Walton was the incharge of that store , so with great strategies and smart moves he not only save the store from closing but make it one of the profitable store in the province. However, after 5 years, when the store was at its peak, the lease between Sam and the Butler brothers came to an end as a result of greed; they fired Sam and took control of that ben franklin store. That was sad for Sam, but he was not like others; instead of giving up, he again started his own variety store in 1960 called "Walton's Five and Dime." The more you broke the more you get strong, with strong determination he stood again and as well as he was having much experience in retail industry . In a few years with great strategies, he grew that store, and as he didn't want to rely on one source, in 1962, he opened his first Walmart store, and after that, he started opening multiple stores all over USA at lightning speed ,that when he died in 1992; at that time, he had already opened 1,960 stores.
Read full Sam Walton story on Wikipedia
What are the best qualities of Sam Walton that every owner should have?
Sam Walton was a disciplined man and avoided spending money on luxuries; he reinvested most of the profit. Furthermore, he stayed friendly with staff and said there is no boss , he used to do most of the work himself . Moreover ,he was clever retailer and a good risk taker make him a successful business owner.
Sam Walton qualities
How good was Sam Walton?
Sam Walton was a humble guy , he stay modest and behave good with everyone. He used to do lot of charity .He didn't do smoking or drinking alcohol .He was just focused to his work.
I identify some of the best quality of Sam Walton and tried to execute in my life .
- Always want to be first
- Hard work believes in action.
- Always stay modest.
- Never blame the situation.
- Discipline personality
- Skill learning from childhood
Always want to be first
Sam Walton always wants to be first; he gives it his best. One of his partners said money is not motivation for Sam, but the thing that motivates him is to be at the top. On one occasion during his childhood there was a competition in his area to see who could sell the most subscriptions in a day, and surprisingly Sam won that competition. That may be the reason Walmart still remains the number 1 highest revenue-earning company in the world.
Hard work believes in action.
After learning and thinking of new strategies, Sam Walton applied them in his business because results can only be seen if you work practically. He used to apply new strategies in his stores continuously to make them better, because experience has an edge over knowledge. His failures and success help to grow his business into a global empire.
Always stay modest.
Like Bill Gates, Sam Lean lives a very simple life; even after becoming the world's richest man, he avoids wasting money . In his life he bought many airplanes, but not for comfort but to save time, as he flew to multiple towns to check the performance of his stores. Moreover, Sam did not buy luxury cars; he used to drive a pickup truck.
Never blame the situation.
One thing I like most about Sam Walton is that he doesn't blame the situation for what or why it happened; instead, he faces those challenges with great zeal and is mostly able to take over pressures. You can measure it when Sam bought the Franklin store, which was already falling and had a bad image; the rent was too high, and some policies of the Ben Franklin store made it difficult to run that store, but instead of pointing fingers, he worked with enthusiasm and made it one of the most successful stores in the province.
Discipline personality
What lifestyle are we, the young generation, watching and trying to execute in our lives but failing due to distractions? Sam was a living disciplined man life avoid avoiding all distractions; he used to do exercise, and I told you before he didn't waste money. He didn't have any desires that could distract him from his work; he just focused on his work and tried to make it better. However, from some information it was found that in life Sam didn't do any shameful act like gambling or dancing; moreover, he didn't smoke and wasn't an alcohol drinker. Every day he wakes up with strong determination that how he can make his business work more efficiently .
Skill learning from childhood
As he was born into a poor family. He started working, learning, and earning in his childhood. It gives him an edge over retail marketing and earning money. Moreover, Sam also went to school and university, where he achieved the degree of Bachelor of Economics, which gave him a strong understanding of the market and business. Furthermore, he was also doing side hustles that practically enhanced his retailing skills.
What enabled Sam Walton to build Walmart into the world’s largest retailer?
Sam Walton sells goods at cheap prices as well as reinvests most of the profit to expand his business. Furthermore, customer trust and the great strategies of Sam Walton enabled him to build Walmart into the world's largest retailer.
What are the best Sam Walton strategies that he used to grow Walmart?
I justified the best business strategies of Sam Walton behind the growth of Walmart
- Analyze competitors.
- Experiment with smart moves.
- Invest max profit and a growth mindset.
- Customer trust and satisfaction
- Sell cheap and earn profit by volume.
- Freedom to staff
- Follow the trend.
Analyze competitors.
Sam Walton himself claimed that more than staying in his own store, Sam Walton stayed in his competitors stores and deeply analyzed what they are doing to attract customers, while Sam's store is not doing it. After he found the strategy, he instantly applied it to his own stores, and moreover, as I told you before, he always wanted to be first; he executed plans in his business to make it better than its competitors.
Experiment with smart moves.
Sam always tried to do something that made him extra profit and compatibility, like placing a popcorn cart in front of his store that attracted customers. If we take today's example, see YouTube, who is giving new features to his users to satisfy them. However, the best thing about him as a businessman is his risk-taking quality with planning and calculation. Sam takes a risk and does an experiment to find out if it works or not. In some cases that gives so much boost to his business.
Invest max profit and a growth mindset.
As I told you before, he didn't waste money; instead, he reinvested most of the profit to grow his business. Not like today's owners, who just get some little profit and then start living a luxury life. Sam knows the value of money and utilizes it properly. Moreover, after he was betrayed by Ben Franklin, he realized that it is not reliable to depend upon one source. So Sam started opening new stores all over the USA, and guess what? Of how many Walmart stores are currently present, Sam just opened 10 percent of those stores alone before his death.
Customer trust and satisfaction
The most essential thing for a business is its customer trust; if customers are not satisfied, they won't come again, and instead their rumor will also stop others from buying something from your business. However, Sam's unique way of communicating with people attracts customers and makes them feel good so that they buy groceries from his store. Moreover, another thing that makes customers satisfied with purchasing through Walmart is that Sam gives them a guarantee; for example, if they get the same product that they bought from Walmart at a cheaper price from any other store, then the customer can give back the product and take the money back. as well as if the product had a defect, they can get a refund.
Sell cheap and earn profit by volume,
In my view this was the best strategy of Walmart. Obviously when people get the same thing at Walmart at cheap prices, they will definitely purchase it. Now you are thinking if he sells products at low prices, how does Walmart generate profit? Now here is a thing he uses: a smart strategy known as profit by volume.
What is “profit by volume” as used by Sam Walton?
Sam used to purchase goods from a supplier who was selling them to him at a low price. Then he increases the quantity or reduces the price of the product, which encourages customers to buy. For example, if a price pack of 3 shirts is 2 dollars, but Sam is getting goods at a cheap price, he makes an offer that a price pack of 4 shirts is 2 dollars.
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Other stores |
Walmart |
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Supplier cost Bunch of 3 shirts is 2.5 dollar |
Supplier cost
Bunch of 3
shirts 2 dollars |
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Sale price Bunch of 3 shirt 3 dollar |
Sale price Bunch of 4 shirts 3 dollar |
Freedom to staff
Sam Walton stayed friendly with staff and let them try new strategies; for example, one time his store manager bought a lot of boxes of washing powder at a cheap price. Everyone thought he had gone crazy because he bought the surf powder in such a large quantity that approximately two rooms were needed for storage. However, Sam, instead of getting angry and taunting the manager, stayed quiet and waited for the result. Surprisingly, it works and generates lots of profit. Maybe this was the reason employees work with enthusiasm, and that might be the reason Sam alone handles hundreds of stores inside and outside the town. The strong bond between Sam and employees leads Walmart to run efficiently.
Follow the trend.
Sam Walton implemented his current time trends in his business. For example, when there was a trend of discounts, a technique some limited stores were using, Sam also used that technique and optimized it better than others. On one more occasion, when some stores use self-service facilities, Sam also applies it to his stores.
More about Sam Walton
Explore Sam Walton quotes on Brainy Quotes
Purchase Sam Walton book "Made in America" on Amazon
lastly , success can't be achieve in nights and without pain . Sam got that experience working from childhood to 5 years in Franklin store and that made him expert in that field . Even getting everything he want ,he still lived a simple life and he used to do charity , this thing makes Sam a great men.
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