Source: Sam's Club
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, grew up poor in a farm
community in rural Missouri during the Great Depression. The
poverty he experienced while growing up taught him the value
of money and to persevere.
After attending the University of Missouri, he immediately
worked for J.C. Penny where he got his first taste of
retailing. He served in World War II, after which he became
a successful franchiser of Ben Franklin five-and-dime
stores. In 1962, he had the idea of opening bigger stores,
sticking to rural areas, keeping costs low and discounting
heavily.
The management disagreed with his vision.
Undaunted, Walton pursued his vision, founded Wal-Mart and
started a retailing success story. When Walton died in 1992,
the family's net worth approached $25 billion.
Today, Wal-Mart is the world's #1 retailer, with more than
4,150 stores, including discount stores, combination
discount and grocery stores, and membership-only warehouse
stores.
Amazon.com is a company that is closely tied with the
e-commerce phenomenon.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of the company,
broke the rules
of the book business by using the Internet rather than
conventional distribution channels.
Based in Seattle, USA, the company has grown
from a book seller to a virtual Wall Mart of the Web selling products as diverse
as music CDs, software, office products, electronics, toys, games, cookware,
hardware, food, and health products. The company has also grown at a tremendous
rate with revenue rising from about US$150 million in 1997 to US$5.2 billion in
2003.
