Sam Walton Quotes

Sam Walton was an American businessman who founded the Walmart chain of stores. He was born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and died in 1992. He was the son of a farmer and a farm wife. He worked in a variety of jobs during his youth, including as a newspaper delivery boy and a management trainee at J.C. Penney.

Walton attended the University of Missouri, where he studied economics. He graduated in 1940 and married his college sweetheart, Helen. The couple had four children. Walton served in the Army during World War II and then returned to Missouri to work in his father-in-law’s liquor store.

In 1945, Walton opened his own variety store in Newport, Arkansas. He called it Walton’s Five and Dime. The store was successful, and Walton soon opened additional stores. In 1962, he opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart quickly became a success, and Walton became a billionaire. He was known for his frugal lifestyle and his commitment to customer service.

Walton was also known for his philanthropy. He and his wife established the Walton Family Foundation, which supports education, environmental conservation, and other causes. Walton was inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame in 1983.

Table of Contents:

1. Early Life

2. Education

3. Career

4. Philanthropy

5. Death

6. Legacy

7. Sam Walton Quotes

Early Life:

Sam Walton was born on March 29, 1918, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He was the first of two children born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee Lawrence Walton. His father was a farmer and his mother was a farm wife.

Walton’s childhood was shaped by the Great Depression. He later recalled that his family was “dirt poor.” The family lost their farm in the Depression, and Walton’s father had to find work in town. Walton’s mother took in laundry to make ends meet.

Despite the family’s poverty, Walton’s parents instilled in him the importance of hard work and education. Walton worked hard on the farm and also had a newspaper route. He later said that his work ethic was shaped by his parents and by the tough times of the Depression.

In high school, Walton was a star athlete. He played football, basketball, and track. He was also student body president. Walton graduated from high school in 1936.

Education:

After high school, Walton attended the University of Missouri. He studied economics and graduated in 1940.

While in college, Walton met his future wife, Helen Robson. The couple married in 1943. They would have four children: Rob, John, Jim, and Alice.

Military Service:

After graduation, Walton tried to find a job, but he was unsuccessful. He then enlisted in the Army. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

After the war, Walton returned to Missouri. He took a job as a management trainee at J.C. Penney. He later worked for a variety of other companies, including a discount store and a department store.

Career:

In 1945, Walton opened his first store in Newport, Arkansas. He called it Walton’s Five and Dime. The store was successful, and Walton soon opened additional stores.

In 1962, Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart was a discount store that sold a variety of items, including groceries, clothing, and hardware. The store was successful, and Walton soon opened additional stores.

Walmart became a publicly traded company in 1970. By this time, Walton owned more than 200 stores. In 1971, Walmart opened its first store outside of Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri.

Walton continued to open new stores and acquired other businesses. In 1988, he acquired the Woolco chain of stores in Canada. In 1991, he acquired the McLane Company, a distribution company.

Walton remained involved in the day-to-day operations of Walmart until his retirement in 1988. He then served as chairman of the board of directors.

Walton was known for his frugal lifestyle. He drove an old pickup truck and lived in a modest home. He was also known for his commitment to customer service. He once said, “The goal of every company should be to make the customer the hero.”

Walton was inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame in 1983. He was also named “Man of the Year” by Time magazine in 1986.

Walton died on April 5, 1992, at the age of 74.

Philanthropy:

Walton was also known for his philanthropy. He and his wife established the Walton Family Foundation, which supports education, environmental conservation, and other causes.

The foundation has donated billions of dollars to charitable causes. It has also supported the construction of schools and the creation of scholarships.

Death:

Walton died on April 5, 1992, at the age of 74. He was survived by his wife and four children.

Legacy:

Walton’s legacy is evident in the Walmart chain of stores. Walmart is now the largest retailer in the world, with more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries. The company has more than 2 million employees.

Walton’s philosophy of customer service and low prices has been adopted by other retailers. His commitment to philanthropy has also inspired other business leaders to give back to their communities.

Sam Walton Quotes

“Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures.”— Sam Walton

“If I had to single out one element in my life that has made a difference for me, it would be a passion to compete.”— Sam Walton

“I was asked what I thought about the recession. I thought about it and decided not to take part.”— Sam Walton

“Most everything I’ve done I’ve copied from somebody else.”— Sam Walton

“Curiosity doesn’t kill the cat; it kills the competition.”— Sam Walton

“I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time.”— Sam Walton

“You can’t just keep doing what works one time, everything around you is changing. To succeed, stay out in front of change.”— Sam Walton

“If you don’t listen to your customers, someone else will.”— Sam Walton

“Individuals don’t win in business, teams do.”— Sam Walton

“There is only one boss. The customer.”— Sam Walton

“Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.”— Sam Walton

“There’s absolutely no limit to what plain, ordinary, working people can accomplish if they’re given the opportunity and encouragement to do their best.”— Sam Walton

“Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.”— Sam Walton

“Celebrate your success and find humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song.”— Sam Walton

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret.”— Sam Walton

“It’s just paper – all I own is a pickup truck and a little Wal-Mart stock.”— Sam Walton

“I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been.”— Sam Walton

“To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time.”— Sam Walton

“If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever.”— Sam Walton

“Focus on something the customer wants, and then deliver it.”— Sam Walton

“High expectations are the key to everything.”— Sam Walton

“I had to get up everyday with my mind set on improving something.”— Sam Walton

“Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.”— Sam Walton

“Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.”— Sam Walton

“If you want a successful business, your people must feel that you are working for them – not that they are working for you.”— Sam Walton

“Leaders must always put their people before themselves. If you do that, your business will take care of itself.”— Sam Walton

“You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient.”— Sam Walton

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.”— Sam Walton

“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want.”— Sam Walton

“Take the best out of everything and adapt it to your needs.”— Sam Walton

“It was almost as if I had a right to win. Thinking like that often seems to turn into sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.”— Sam Walton

“Exceed your customer’s expectations. If you do, they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want – and a little more.”— Sam Walton

“Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.”— Sam Walton

“Don’t get so stuck in your ways that you can’t change.”— Sam Walton

“Communicate everything you can to your associates. The more they know, the more they care. Once they care, there is no stopping them.”— Sam Walton

“Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage.”— Sam Walton

“You can learn from everybody.”— Sam Walton

“A computer can tell you down to the dime what you’ve sold, but it can never tell you how much you could have sold.”— Sam Walton

“Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.”— Sam Walton

“Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up.”— Sam Walton

“Do it. Try it. Fix it.”— Sam Walton

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”— Sam Walton

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret. And we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished ; we’ve just begun.”— Sam Walton

“When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song.”— Sam Walton

“Lose your smile and lose your customers.”— Sam Walton

“The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It’s terribly important for everyone to get involved. Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.”— Sam Walton

“The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.”— Sam Walton

“Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be. Don’t become too predictable.”— Sam Walton

“Great ideas come from everywhere if you just listen and look for them. You never know who’s going to have a great idea.”— Sam Walton

“There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”— Sam Walton

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