New Ideas.

Ambitious Expansion.

In the late 1970s Wal-Mart entered into an aggressively ambitious expansion program, planning to add 60 stores per year. In 1979 the 252-store chain had sales of $1.2 billion and earnings of $38 million. By the early 1990s Wal-Mart had displaced Sears as the number one retailer in the country. In 1992 Wal-Mart expanded into Mexico with joint efforts with Cifra, the leading Mexican retailer.

Independent of Genius.

The brainchild of Sam Walton, an Arkansas retailer who learned the trade by running a chain of Ben Franklin variety stores during the 1950s, Wal-Mart was thought to be dependent on his genius, authority, and tolerance for hard work. Most commentators thought Wal-Mart's future too dependent on Walton. Yet after Walton's death in 1992, Walton's previous work in developing a management system bore fruit as Wal-Mart continued to grow.

Sources:

Harold Seneker, "A Day in the Life of Sam...