Learning Become Entrepreneurs from Sam Walton

By M. Suyanto

We can learn to be entrepreneurs from Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart. In 2008, Wal-Mart was elected to the Company's eleven ranked the world's most amazing version of Fortune magazine. To become the world's best companies is not easy. Full travel lanes Wal-Mart experience.

The company was founded by Sam Walton and Bud Walton in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. Both were born from poor families. Sam's childhood jobs was squeezing cow's milk, put in a bottle and distribute milk cows. When finished, Sam delivering newspapers. After being fired from military service in 1945, Sam founded the shop with borrowed capital-in-law and $ 20,000 savings result when 5000 dollars in military service. Stores Sam's is a franchise store of the Butler Brothers. With the help of Bud Walton, in-law and brother-in-law, Sam opened the store in Ruskin Heights, near the town of Kansas in the shopping center. Then open a larger store called Walton's Family Center and finally Sam with Bud founded Wal-Mart. Initial strategy was used to discount stores. This strategy is the first in the world. Five years later, Wal-mart has 24 branches with sales of 12.6 million dollars. In 1970, Wal-Mart opens first distribution center and headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, and trade shares of the first time. Then Wal-Mart approved and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1987, Wal-Mart's strategy is to decide later to move in the wholesale business. Wal-Mart learned from Carrefour, which is a European retailer who runs 73 hypermarkets across Europe and there are 780 outlets. Hypermarkets are shops selling wholesale goods and goods other general merchandise under one roof. Wal-Mart has the potential to do a combination of strategy and operations wholesale merchandise that offer opportunities to expand the company faster. Because Wal-Mart at the time, controls 50% of the 150 Miyar dollar discount store business, 32% controlled by K-mart and Target. Wal-Mart's strategy has a simple side-effects and low profit margins. Consumers visit grocery stores more regularly than the general merchandise store. With this strategy Wal-Mart able to cope with intense competition and provide opportunities for consumers to obtain a general merchandise and troubleshooting small profit margins if the consumer is to resell the goods purchased. Wal-Mart opened four Hypermarket and continued to open Supercenter, the store format is smaller than Hypermarket format. To create a Supercenter, Wal-Mart had to experiment for four years. First Supercenter in Washington. Between 1992 and 1998, opened a Supercenter last 558 Wal-Mart into retail companies (retailers) the largest. in the world with sales worth more than $ 100 billion in 1997. and the company's rating on the 2003 World One version of Fortune magazine. Even with a world record one-day sales reached 1.43 billion dollars,. on the day after Thanksgiving.