“Walmart: Dominating Global Distribution with One Supermarket”

“Walmart” is a company currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. It is ranked third in the world in the “distribution sector” as the largest retail distributor in the United States.

Currently, there are larger retail companies than Walmart, such as “Amazon” and “Berkshire Hathaway”. Amazon focuses on online distribution and cloud services through AWS, while Berkshire Hathaway is primarily engaged in insurance and investment mergers and acquisitions and is not a typical “retail distributor”. From this perspective, Walmart can be considered the world’s largest offline “retail distributor” at present.

“Walmart’s Entry and Withdrawal from South Korea”

While Walmart dominates the retail market globally, it experienced the spicy taste of Korea and eventually withdrew. It entered South Korea on June 25, 1993, but eventually dissolved its corporation on September 27, 2006.

At that time, there were several reasons why Walmart failed in the Korean market, with the following three being the most prominent:

Incompatibility of store characteristics with the Korean situation at that time
Absence of shuttle bus services
Incorrect product sales strategy

The characteristics of Walmart stores, such as large parking lots and warehouse-like layouts with displayed products, did not align well with the shopping habits in Korea.

Furthermore, Walmart was located in the outskirts with inconvenient access to public transportation. With the enactment of a law in 2001 prohibiting shuttle bus services for department stores and discount marts, other businesses were unable to operate shuttle buses, but Walmart never operated shuttle buses from the beginning.

Finally, not understanding Korean food culture and implementing incorrect product sales strategies were also problematic. Despite Korea being the top consumer of vegetables as of 2000, with various vegetables being part of Korean cuisine, Walmart overlooked this aspect.

Combined with these major issues and other factors, Walmart had no choice but to withdraw from the Korean market.

“The Book Covering the History of Walmart’s Establishment and Growth”

Despite these setbacks, Walmart remains a company dominating the global market. The book covers the period from Walmart’s inception in 1945 to its growth. Since it was published in 2003, it does not cover the recent 20 years of history.

Nevertheless, it faithfully portrays Walmart’s founding and growth processes, making it a worthwhile read for those curious about corporate history.

“Walmart Founded by Sam Walton in 1945”

Founder Sam Walton began operating stores as a franchise in 1945. After the franchise period ended in 1949, he opened the Ben Franklin variety store in Bentonville in 1951. Eleven years later, he opened the first Walmart chain store.

The city where Walmart opened, Bentonville, was a small town with a population of only a few thousand. However, founder Sam Walton recognized the advantageous consumption habits of small-town residents and boldly invested in the business.

Moreover, his targeting of small-town locals had another reason. It was to avoid direct confrontation with established corporations with massive capital and to operate under their radar. By venturing out of the media and major corporations’ attention, he could gradually develop his business.

“Founder Sam Walton, Growing Walmart”

Founder Sam Walton had the greatest impact on Walmart’s early growth. To offer products about 20% cheaper than other stores, he regularly visited stores.

In terms of investment, he identified factors that could influence customers and selectively invested boldly where needed, avoiding investment where unnecessary. He personally visited multiple stores, talked to employees, and indirectly assessed the relationship with managers to ensure even the smallest details were addressed.

Even after becoming the owner of numerous stores, Sam Walton personally managed stores, dressed modestly, and led the Walmart culture by establishing three core beliefs:

Respect for every individual
Service to customers
Strive for excellence

Later, seven more beliefs were added, forming Walmart’s ten commandments. In 1977, he observed a morning exercise routine in a Korean company and implemented it in Walmart.

“Special Rules at Walmart”

There is a greeter at the entrance of Walmart stores who plays a special role. They greet customers entering the store and convey the message, “Have a great shopping experience!” This has become a trademark of Walmart.

To ensure Walmart’s culture permeates all stores, they created the “Sundown Rule,” meaning not to postpone tasks until tomorrow.

Moreover, to encourage employee initiative, they established the “10-foot Rule,” where if a customer is within ten feet, employees must proactively approach and inquire if they need assistance.

Founder Sam Walton was wary of bureaucratization as the company grew. Therefore, they focused on simplification to handle tasks as straightforwardly as possible.

“Expansion into Overseas Markets”

Just before founder Sam Walton’s death, Walmart was preparing to explore overseas markets. Eventually, Walmart opened its first store in Mexico.

After Sam Walton’s death, Walmart continued to explore overseas markets through CEOs such as David Glass and Lee Scott. They selected nine countries for expansion, including South Korea. (Of course, as we already know, Walmart withdrew from South Korea and has not returned since.)

When Walmart entered the UK, they used M&A to expand. By merging with the UK’s retail company “ASDA,” they easily entered the market. ASDA happened to be a company benchmarking Walmart, so their corporate cultures were similar, facilitating the M&A process.

“Walmart’s Struggles in Germany”

Despite facing challenges in South Korea, Walmart also struggled in Germany. High brand recognition of existing German discount stores posed a high entry barrier. These stores pursued a strategy of lowering prices without investing in interior design or customer service.

Nevertheless, despite Walmart’s strategies aiming at all three aspects, while British supermarkets generated profits of about 6-8%, Walmart only achieved about 1% profit in Germany.

“Walmart’s Indifference to Media and Legal Responses”

From the early days of its business, Walmart paid no attention to “media” and “legal responses.” Founder Sam Walton instructed executives to avoid media contact as much as possible, allowing them to navigate media networks smoothly in the early stages of business.

However, as the company grew, it inevitably attracted media attention. They once accepted a proposal to create a video about Walmart on a U.S. television program and suffered significant backlash. Initially promised to portray Walmart positively, the program instead attacked Walmart to tarnish its image.

Walmart experienced repeated losses in lawsuits and eventually changed its strategy to handle them softly by later reinforcing the legal team.

In addition to the topics covered here, the book provides even more detailed stories. Through the growth process of a single company, it offers intriguing insights into how Walmart grew from a small-town retailer to a global powerhouse.

After reading the book, one may become more curious about the company Walmart and even desire to visit a Walmart store. However, since Walmart cannot be found in South Korea, one would have to visit the United States or another country where Walmart operates.

While the United States has Amazon and Walmart, South Korea has Coupang and E-Mart. Despite facing setbacks in South Korea, Walmart still holds a higher corporate value than South Korean companies and dominates the retail distribution sector worldwide.

“Walmart: Dominating Global Distribution with One Supermarket”