Walton was too Far Off the Beaten Path to Attract the Attention of Competitors or Suppliers
Sam Walton didn't open his first Wal-Mart (WMT) store until he was 44, on July 2, 1962. In an amazing year, the industry came from almost nowhere and started to surge. Not only did Walton start Wal-Mart, but F.W. Woolworth opened up Woolco, Dayton Hudson started Target (TGT), and S.S. Kresge got K Mart off the ground.
In a way it probably helped get some of the attention off of Wal-Mart in a positive way, although at the time Walton wouldn't have thought that. Discounted started to take the country by storm, seemingly overnight.
One of the huge problems and strengths that Walton had was his strategy to target small, rural towns, which most existing retailers didn't think were worth getting into. The strength was that Walton and Wal-Mart weren't noticed, or taken seriously if they were noticed. That helped him to build an empire right under the noses of the biggest retailers in the world.
On the other hand, it was difficult to implement his low cost strategy because suppliers also didn't take the business that seriously as well. Walton had to hustle and negotiate hard to bring things even close to what he wanted.
The one good thing is while he was working all the bugs out of the system, nobody really took notice of what he was doing. So he was able to fly under the radar for a long time, until it was too late.
Even with the challenge of working with suppliers, another one of those difficult problems that had to be solved in the early going, Walton was still able to overcome them to become the biggest retailer in the world.
Other Walton Sources:
The Most Underrated CEO Ever The legendary Sam Walton
Sam Walton: The Power of Persistence
Sam Walton Business Quotes for Ya
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