Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style. In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.

A biography of Sam Walton and how he rose from an impoverished childhood to become the richest man in America.

This biography examines the remarkable life of Sam Walton using easy-to-read, compelling text. Through striking black-and-white images and rich color photographs, readers will learn about Walton?s family background, childhood, education, and entrepreneurial work as the founder of Walmart and Sam?s Club. Informative sidebars enhance and support the text. Features include a table of contents, timeline, facts page, glossary, bibliography, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

The story of a department-store trainee who became the richest man in America and owner of the biggest retail store in the world: Walmart. Sam Walton used the money he earned in the army, along with some financial help from his family, to open his first store. Then he opened fourteen more. Then Sam had an even bigger idea. He wanted to build large stores in small towns and reduce the price of everything they stocked. Although other businessmen and potential partners laughed at him, this entrepreneur with humble beginnings used his resourcefulness to create Walmart, which would become the largest company in the world.

As a former employee, Bergdhal had the opportunity to see the Wal-Mart executive team in action and to work directly with Sam Walton. This unique perspective provides him with a treasure trove of great lessons and stories from behind the scenes.

"The story of Wal-Mart Stores is the stuff of legends: in 1945 a poor boy from a poor state opens a variety store in a small town in rural Arkansas and, through hard work, ingenuity, and a commitment to providing customers with low-priced, high-quality merchandise, goes on to create the largest retail operation in the United States. In just 30 years Sam Walton and his Wal-Mart Stores transformed mass merchandising and revolutionized the shopping habits and expectations of American consumers. Moreover, Walton himself - a modest, simple man devoted to family, community, and his employees and customers - so inspired the American people that he was awarded the Medal of Freedom. Upon his death in 1992 Walton left his family a fortune estimated at $23.5 billion; that same year Wal-Mart Stores attained net sales of $43.9 billion and had 1,720 Wal-Mart units operating in 39 states." "This fascinating history of a man and his enterprise is adroitly chronicled by Sandra S. Vance and Roy V. Scott in Wal-Mart, the first scholarly study of Wal-Mart Stores and Sam Walton's remarkable career. Organizing their material chronologically, the authors trace Walton's evolving entrepreneurial style and mounting achievements, consistently linking the character of the man to the innovations he produced - starting with a tiny Ben Franklin variety store in 1945 and progressing to Walton's 5 & 10, Walton's Family Centers, and finally Wal-Mart Stores in the ensuing decades. Readers gain a wealth of insights into the history of American retailing and reach a solid understanding of the elements contributing to Wal-Mart's success: the steadfast dedication to customer service, the sophisticated mechanisms for keeping overhead low, the company policies designed to engender loyalty from employees and customers alike. Given particular emphasis are the factors that led to Wal-Mart's 1990-91 victory over its chief rivals, K mart and Sears, in becoming the nation's leading retailer; also highlighted is the issue of Wal-Mart's impact on the communities it serves and the small businesses therein." "Wal-Mart will hold the interest of students and scholars, of retailing executives and general readers, from first page to last."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved