Walton, Sam(uel Moore) (1918–1992)

US retail executive. In 1945 he opened the first of a chain of Ben Franklin ‘five-and-dime’ franchises in Arkansas, and, in 1962 in Rodgers, Arkansas, he opened his first Wal-Mart discount store. Headquartered at Bentonville, Arkansas, he created a national chain of Wal-Mart stores in small towns and rural areas, selling brand-name goods in high volume at low prices. The company went public in 1970 and, owing to a unique decentralized distribution system, his charismatic leadership, and celebrated hands-on management style, it grew exponentially in the 1980s. In 1991 Wal-Mart became the nation's largest retailer, with 1,700 stores, and Walton himself was reported by Forbes to be the richest man in the country.

Committed to discounting and putting customer satisfaction first, Walton cut his margins to the bone. To manage the company's rapid growth, he was an early advocate of new technology. He set up a computer system to control and track stock movement, building up an in-house logistics division, and was one of the first retailers to share an automated reordering system with major suppliers such as Proctor & Gamble, eliminating costly inventories. Wal-Mart's progress was not received without criticism; the company has been blamed for driving other small retailers out of business and, it is alleged, for being anti-union and stocking goods made in developing world sweatshops.

Walton was born in Kingfish, Oklahoma. Raised in Missouri, he graduated in economics from the University of Missouri, where he was a state champion quarterback and president of the student council. In 1940 he joined J C Penney as a management trainee, before serving in the US Army Intelligence Corps during World War II, where he was promoted to the rank of captain. Walton opened his first five-and-dime store in 1945 in Newport and then operated a chain of about 15 Ben Franklin variety stores in six states.

When Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in 1962, companies such as Kmart and Woolworth's, which had built their stores around large cities, dominated retailing. Walton could not then compete at that level; instead he applied the discount store idea to rural towns, perceiving that small town dwellers also wanted low price consumer goods, where there was only local independent competition. He then began to penetrate more competitive and populated markets in the USA.

Walton put customer satisfaction first. He pioneered the company's ‘Ten Foot Attitude’, requiring all employees (whom internally he called associates – a practice dating back to his time at J C Penney) coming within ten feet of a customer to look them in the eye, greet them, and ask them if they needed any help. As well as challenging his employees to make suggestions for cutting costs, he displayed signs such as ‘Our People Make the Difference’ in his stores, and he often appeared unannounced in stores to talk to staff. He also provided profit-sharing schemes as an incentive.

He was president and CEO until 1988 and chair until his death. The family business empire, which was named Retailer of the Decade by Discount Store News in 1989, was several times included in Fortune magazine's list of the ‘Ten most admired corporations’. Walton was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before his death.