Walmart

In this comprehensive exploration of Walmart's rise to global retail dominance, hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal of the "Acquired" podcast delve into the retail giant's history, strategies, and impact. They discuss how Sam Walton's innovative approach to discount retailing, starting with small-town America, countered the existing variety store model, leading to Walmart's exponential growth. Walton's emphasis on low prices, direct supplier negotiations, and efficient logistics, including a private satellite network, positioned Walmart to outpace competitors like Kmart. Despite challenges in e-commerce and international markets, Walmart's focus on customer savings and scale economies has maintained its status as the world's largest retailer, with a significant shift towards supercenters and grocery sales. The episode also touches on Walmart's environmental initiatives, labor relations, and societal implications.

• Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal introduce the season premiere of Acquired.
• The podcast focuses on technology companies and their origins, strategies, and lessons.
• Ben Gilbert is the co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs and PSL Ventures.
• David Rosenthal is an angel investor based in San Francisco.
• They mention how concepts attributed to Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos were often inspired by Akio Morita and Sam Walton, respectively.
• The episode will explore Sam Walton's creation of Walmart, its impact on retail, and the Walton family's continued control over the company.

"Welcome to season eleven, episode one. The season premiere of Acquired, the podcast about great technology companies and the stories and playbooks behind them." "Today, we explore Sam's creation, which ushered in a new era of American retail, and now global retail, from the post World War II period all the way to today."

The quotes introduce the theme of the podcast and set the stage for discussing Walmart's history and the influence of Sam Walton.

• Walmart is the largest company by revenue, with nearly $600 billion in sales.
• It is the world's largest employer, other than public entities, with 2.3 million employees.
• The Walton family still controls over 50% of the business 60 years after its founding.
• 90% of America lives within 10 miles of a Walmart, with exceptions like San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and Manhattan.
• The company's success is tied to its reach, except in certain urban centers.

"It is the largest by revenue in the world, doing nearly $600 billion a year in sales." "It is the world's largest employer, other than public entities like governments, employing nearly 2.3 million people around the world."

These quotes highlight Walmart's massive scale and economic influence, both in revenue and employment.

• Many mental models and quotes ascribed to Jeff Bezos originated with Sam Walton.
• Walton's ability to learn, adapt, test, and integrate ideas from others was his greatest gift.
• The episode aims to provide lessons applicable to entrepreneurs today.
• Walmart's history is considered a classic business story.

"We learned that many of the mental models and quotes ascribed to Jeff Bezos were really the original thoughts of Sam Walton." "This really is one of the most classic business stories in America or in the world, period."

These quotes emphasize the importance of Walton's influence on modern business practices and the timeless nature of his entrepreneurial story.

• Pilot is a company offering accounting, tax, and bookkeeping services for startups and growth companies.
• It is the largest startup-focused accounting firm in the US.
• Pilot operates a company's entire financial stack and offers CFO services.
• The service aligns with Jeff Bezos' axiom that startups should focus on their core product and outsource other activities.

"Pilot is the one team for all of your company's accounting, tax, and bookkeeping needs." "Every company needs it. It needs to be done by a professional. You don't want to take any risk of anything going wrong, but at the same time, it has zero impact on your product or customers, things you do uniquely well."

These quotes explain the benefits of Pilot's services, positioning it as a solution for companies to focus on their core competencies while ensuring their financial operations are handled professionally.

• The Acquired community on Slack has over 12,000 members for discussions.
• The Acquired LP show provides additional content, including interviews with entrepreneurs.
• The next episode features Patrick Campbell discussing the acquisition of ProfitWell.

"After you finish this episode, you should come discuss it with the 12,000 other smart, curious members of the acquired community at acquired FM Slack." "The next episode will be an interview with Patrick Campbell on all the juicy details of how his $200 million acquisition of ProfitWell, went down step by step, deal point by deal point."

These quotes invite listeners to engage with the Acquired community and tease upcoming content, highlighting the podcast's commitment to providing in-depth business insights.

• Sam Walton's autobiography is a key resource for understanding Walmart's history.
• Jeff Bezos was influenced by Walton's book in shaping Amazon's early days.
• Walton's story serves as a bridge between traditional business figures like Rockefeller and modern entrepreneurs like Bezos.
• Walton's use of technology and computing in business was ahead of its time.

"We do have to thank the man, Sam Walton himself, and his co-author, John Huey, for his autobiography, Made in America, which is just amazing." "Sam and the Walmart story is like the bridge between the business America that was John Rockefeller and Standard Oil and Amazon and Jeff Bezos."

The quotes acknowledge the significance of Walton's autobiography in providing insights into his business philosophy and the evolution of retail and technology in business.

• The discussed store has an operating margin of 24%, indicating substantial profitability.
• If the rent situation were improved, the margin could potentially increase to 28%.
• This store is highlighted as the most profitable and the largest by sales in Arkansas and the broader Midwest and South region.
• The success is attributed to a "winning formula," which likely involves strategic supplier deals and product offerings.

"So his operating margin on this is 24%. He's making very, very real profits on this little store that he's got."

The quote signifies the financial success of the store, with a 24% operating margin reflecting strong profitability.

"If he had a better rent deal, it could be like 28%."

This quote suggests that the profitability could be even higher if not for the high rent costs, indicating a potential area for cost reduction and profit increase.

• The store owner has established direct deals with suppliers, allowing for a more profitable operation.
• The store has expanded its product range, which contributes to its visibility and success.
• The success has caught the attention of the franchise parent company, Ben Franklin, and the Butler Brothers Corporation.
• The store's performance benefits both the owner and the franchise network due to increased volume and customer base.

"Here, which is interesting because I'm pretty sure at this point he's got a bunch of direct deals cut with the suppliers, and he's added a bunch of products of his own."

This quote indicates the store owner's initiative to cut direct deals with suppliers and expand the product range, enhancing profitability and market presence.

• The landlord of the store, recognizing its success, decides to take over the store by not renewing the lease without an option to extend.
• The owner is left in a difficult position with significant inventory and limited relocation options in a small town.
• Despite the setback, the landlord compensates the owner for the franchise license and assets, providing funds for future ventures.

"Butler Brothers wasn't the only related party to Sam, who figured out what was going on here."

The quote implies that the store's success was evident to various stakeholders, including the landlord, who took strategic action based on this observation.

"I'm going to take it from here."

This quote from the landlord to the store owner signifies the end of the lease agreement and the landlord's intention to capitalize on the store's success.

• The store owner, along with his spouse, searches for a new location, taking into account family proximity and personal interests such as quail hunting.
• They settle in Bentonville, Arkansas, a small town with existing competition, which aligns with the owner's competitive nature.
• The decision-making process for the new location considers both business and personal factors.

"So they go up to the other corner of the state in northwest Arkansas."

This quote describes the geographical shift in the search for a new store location, emphasizing strategic selection based on various factors.

"It is that he will be very close to four states which each have their own quail hunting season."

The quote highlights the personal motivation behind the location choice, showing the owner's desire to integrate personal hobbies with business decisions.

• The first Walmart store opens and is named "Walton's Five and Dime," signaling a new era and brand independence from Ben Franklin.
• The store introduces the self-service model, becoming the third of its kind in the country, and achieves impressive sales in its first year.
• The owners demonstrate a competitive strategy, including opening a store next to a competitor to prevent their expansion.

"They reopen the Ben Franklin store that they bought."

This quote marks the transition from a Ben Franklin franchise to the independent Walton's Five and Dime, laying the groundwork for the Walmart brand.

"Walton's five and dime does $90,000 in sales the first year."

The quote showcases the immediate success of the new store concept, reflecting strong customer appeal and market potential.

• The store owner recognizes the importance of competition and customer preferences in driving business success.
• The strategy involves taking insights from competitors and implementing them effectively within the store.
• The concept of discounting is introduced, focusing on low prices to attract customers and expand the market.

"We are absolutely competitor focused. We are focused on taking the best stuff from our competitors and implementing it here."

This quote emphasizes the competitive strategy that involves learning from and outperforming competitors to gain market advantage.

"My customers were also sophisticated retail customers."

The quote reflects the owner's understanding of customer sophistication and the need to provide high-quality retail experiences regardless of location.

• Sam Walton expands his business by opening additional stores and creating a partnership model for store managers.
• Store managers are incentivized through profit sharing and investment opportunities, aligning their interests with the company's success.
• The unique management structure contributes to rapid growth and fosters a culture of ownership and collaboration.

"Every store manager in a new store opening was given at first equity in individual partnerships."

The quote explains the innovative approach to store management, where managers have a stake in the success of their stores.

"You put up your own money, but you can do it. Pretax dollars out of your paycheck at a 15% discount to the stock price."

This quote describes the employee stock purchase program, which allows employees to invest in the company and benefit from its growth.

• Sam Walton recognizes the potential of discount retailing and attempts to partner with Butler Brothers to adopt this model.
• Butler Brothers declines the partnership, leading Walton to pursue the discounting strategy independently.
• Walmart's focus on building an efficient logistics network from scratch differentiates it from competitors who rely on existing, less efficient systems.

"I think I can make this work. I think I can do it."

The quote captures Sam Walton's determination to implement the discount retailing model despite the challenges and lack of support from established partners.

"Sam, of course, goes out, he goes and shops."

This quote illustrates Walton's hands-on approach to understanding and adopting new retail concepts, emphasizing the importance of firsthand experience.

• Walmart is founded in 1962 with the opening of its first store in Rogers, Arkansas.
• The store's success is driven by a clear commitment to discounting and offering the lowest prices on all items.
• Walmart's growth strategy involves opening more stores and refining its operations, eventually outpacing competitors like Kmart.

"From day one at Walmart, Mr. Walton made it clear that this wasn't just Ben Franklin with low prices on some items."

This quote conveys the foundational principle of Walmart to consistently offer low prices across the board, establishing its identity as a discount retailer.

"Whatever anyone else did, we always had to sell it for less."

The quote reinforces Walmart's aggressive pricing strategy, which became a key factor in its rapid expansion and dominance in the retail market.

• Walmart's focus on efficiency was driven by their need to keep prices low without outside capital.
• They reinvested cash flows from the business to improve their operations.
• Efficiency became a core part of Walmart's growth strategy.

"The only way they could do that, while keeping prices low was to make their operations as efficient as humanly possible."

This quote highlights the necessity for Walmart to streamline operations to maintain low prices, which was a driving force behind their business model.

• Walmart's initial undercapitalization and location in small communities shaped their growth.
• Starting with limited resources forced Walmart to innovate and expand into untapped markets.
• Sam Walton recognized the untapped potential of small-town America.

"Sam has this amazing quote. He says, the things that we were forced to learn to do because we started out under financed and undercapitalized in these remote small communities, contributed mightily to the way we've grown as a company."

The quote demonstrates how Walmart's early challenges contributed to the development of key strategies that fueled their success.

• Walmart's strategy included both operational efficiency and effective merchandising.
• They focused on reducing operating costs per unit and being responsive to consumer needs.
• Sam Walton's intuition for consumer desires was crucial in sourcing and store placement.

"There was a second component, though, which is be a great merchandiser."

This quote underlines the importance of balancing operational efficiency with strong merchandising skills to succeed in the retail industry.

• Walton brothers used planes to survey potential store locations.
• This method allowed them to identify and negotiate land deals directly, avoiding middlemen.
• The use of planes is an example of Walmart's hands-on and cost-effective approach.

"So early on, what they would do is the two of them would take prop planes, fly to places to survey where they want to put a store."

This quote illustrates the innovative and frugal techniques Walmart used to expand its store network.

• Walmart built its own logistics and technology infrastructure when external options were inadequate.
• They invested in a private satellite network for communication and data transfer.
• This infrastructure became a core competency for Walmart, crucial for scaling and competing.

"And it reminded me of what we talk about all the time on the show, right, of the Jeff Bezos, don't build your own infrastructure. Focus only on what makes your beer taste better."

The quote provides context for when building in-house infrastructure is strategically advantageous, as it was for Walmart's growth and competitiveness.

• Walmart's IPO in 1970 was not highly anticipated and faced market challenges.
• Despite low initial interest, Walmart experienced significant post-IPO growth.
• The public offering was a stepping stone for Walmart's expansion.

"By 1968, they had 24 stores. They filed to go public in 1970 with 32 stores and around 1000 employees."

This quote provides factual details about Walmart's size and reach at the time of their IPO, indicating the scale of their operations before becoming a public company.

• Walmart embraced computer technology early on to improve retail operations.
• Sam Walton recognized the potential of computing to revolutionize retail.
• Technology became a foundation for Walmart's efficiency and data management.

"Without the computer, Sam Walton could not have done what he's done."

The quote emphasizes the critical role that computer technology played in enabling Walmart's retail empire.

• Walmart transformed traditional warehouses into distribution centers.
• They customized orders for each store and built their own trucking fleet.
• This distribution strategy allowed Walmart to outcompete retailers like Kmart.

"The first concept of a distribution center, think Kmart. They have warehouses, right?"

The quote compares Walmart's innovative distribution center concept to the traditional warehouse approach, highlighting a key competitive advantage.

• Walmart has been investing in ecommerce to catch up with the digital revolution.
• Acquisitions like Kosmix and Jet.com aimed to boost Walmart's online presence.
• Walmart's ecommerce strategy leverages their physical stores for a seamless customer experience.

"So now Statsig is the modern version of that promise and available to all companies building great products."

This quote, although not directly related to Walmart, touches on the importance of modern technology and data-driven decision-making in today's retail landscape, which Walmart has been incorporating into their strategy.

• Supercenters, which combine general merchandise with groceries, became Walmart's standard store format.
• Walmart's entry into groceries significantly increased their market share and revenue.
• The supercenter concept was a pivotal move in Walmart's continued dominance.

"They did half a billion dollars in sales growing at that rate."

This quote reflects Walmart's explosive growth following the introduction of supercenters, indicating a successful strategic pivot.

• Walmart operates in 24 countries with over 10,500 stores.
• They serve 230 million customers weekly and have revenues nearing $600 billion.
• Sam's Club, a part of Walmart, competes with Costco but has not achieved the same level of dominance.

"They're in 24 countries, which we haven't discussed. They're a global empire at this point."

The quote underscores Walmart's vast international reach and status as a global retail empire.

• Saul Price and Jim Senegal pioneered the warehouse shopping model with Costco Price Club and Sam's Club.
• The original target market for warehouse clubs was small businesses, not individual consumers.
• Over time, as Costco expanded, they realized that individual consumers also appreciated the model.

Speaker B: "The original target market for it was not consumers, it was small businesses."

This quote highlights the initial focus on small businesses for warehouse shopping clubs, which later expanded to include individual consumers as the model gained popularity.

• Walmart's international business accounts for a significant portion of its revenue.
• While there have been successful expansions in Mexico and Canada, Walmart faced challenges in Europe.
• Walmart pulled out of Germany and sold UK retailer Asda at a loss.

Speaker B: "It's 18% of revenue. It's about half of the stores are international stores."

This quote provides a quantitative measure of the importance of Walmart's international business, indicating that nearly half of Walmart's stores are located outside the United States.

• Walmart's growth has slowed significantly since its early years.
• The company's revenue growth has been flat at around 3% since 2013, despite attempts to invest in new areas.
• The law of large numbers and the challenge of executing well in ecommerce and international markets have impacted growth.

Speaker A: "They were growing about 40% to 50% a year... And that has basically been on a slow, steady decline all the way until about 2013, where it's been about flat at 3% since then."

This quote outlines Walmart's rapid growth in its early years and the subsequent decline to a stable, lower growth rate, reflecting the challenges faced by the company as it reached a larger scale.

• Hamilton Helmer's Seven Powers are identified as the sources of persistent differential returns for a company.
• Walmart's success in its early years can be attributed to counter positioning, where it targeted small towns that other big companies ignored.
• Scale economies have been a significant power for Walmart, allowing it to offer lower prices due to its size and efficient operations.

Speaker A: "In the takeoff phase, no doubt that it was counter positioning... They were just doing something that all of the big established companies couldn't and wouldn't do."

This quote emphasizes Walmart's strategic advantage in its early years by focusing on underserved markets, which larger competitors overlooked.

• Walmart's investment in Flipkart aimed to enter the Indian market but has not been as successful as hoped.
• Walmart's growth has slowed, and its ecommerce segment, despite significant revenue, is not yet profitable.
• The company has closed many Sam's Clubs, converting some into ecommerce distribution centers.

Speaker B: "Walmart bought 77%, I think, stake in Flipkart back in, I think it was 2018 for over $16 billion... But that's not worth a 16, $17 billion purchase price."

This quote highlights Walmart's significant investment in Flipkart as a strategy to enter the Indian market, but the return on investment has been questioned.

• Walmart has shown resilience in economic downturns and serves a customer base that is sensitive to price changes.
• The company faces competition from various retailers, including Costco, Amazon, and dollar stores.
• Walmart's focus on low prices has been a consistent strategy, but it may need to adapt to maintain its competitive edge.

Speaker A: "Walmart is kind of recession resistant and in some ways even countercyclical because of their obsession with the lowest price."

This quote suggests that Walmart's commitment to low prices positions it well to perform during economic downturns, serving price-sensitive customers effectively.

• Walmart's scale means that it has a broad impact on labor and communities.
• The company's employment practices and environmental policies have evolved over time.
• Walmart's role in selling guns and its approach to gun sales have been points of discussion.

Speaker A: "Walmart in so many ways is a microcosm of America... They are just everything."

This quote reflects on Walmart's vast influence on various aspects of American life, from employment to environmental practices and societal issues.