Believe it or not, Discount Retailing was Controversial in the 1950s
Something that's hard to understand in today's competitive marketplace, is that in the 1950s, discount retailing was considered controversial and a disruptor in the marketplace.
It threatened all the existing powers in the marketplace and the one's being disrupted hated it. Traditional retailers thought it was nuts and didn't think it made any sense - at first. Manufacturers understood that it was a real threat to their contol of the marketplace and fought it hard.
Sam Walton wasn't the only one that saw the need to serve the market either. Ann & Hope were another business that embraced the concept as well, when they opened up a store in a reclaimed mill in Cumberland, R.I.
In other words, this wasn't only getting into business and the usual tough circumstances that surround doing that under normal circumstances, but Sam Walton faced extraordinary pressures and opposition from suppliers and manufacturers. They understood that they would have to improve their efficiencies if they wanted to serve the discount retailing market that was starting up around them.
Walton had to face all of this while trying to find ways to make the business run better and other ways to continually cut costs.
Maybe you never knew that retailing could be so exciting. But just look at things today and those forces that are trying to crush the great service that Wal-Mart offers. People that hate the free market system and aren't able to compete with Wal-Mart are in many cases making up lies to put them lower in the eyes of it customers. It hasn't worked in the past and shouldn't work at all in the future as customers continue to vote with their dollars on who they want to shop with.
The major thing to learn in all of this to me is not to pay too much attention to your detractors, and continually work on what will make your business great. If we try to answer everyone and be everything to everybody, we eventually stand for nothing.
In the case of Wal-Mart today, they still need to keep their focus, but I think they do need to answer a lot of the outright lies and misinformation thrown out by their detractors.
Sam Walton: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Business
Sam Walton - Retail Success Story
Sam Walton: King Of The Discounters
Sam Walton: Great From the Start
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