 “Save money. Live better.” That's the advertising slogan of Walmart Stores, Inc., a corporation in the United States that owns and manages an extensive chain of discount department stores. While you may not have heard of Walmart, it is also very popular in countries outside of the United States, 44 to be exact! Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and became incorporated in 1969. By 2007, it was reported by Fortune Global 500 to be the world's largest public corporation (by revenue). Walmart's history is inspiring. Sam Walton, a man described as embodying the entrepreneurial spirit, was a man of vision. His ideas of competitive pricing and excellent customer support changed the face of the retailing business. Rather than taking in all of the profits as most wholesalers of his time, he implemented his dream of earning profits based on volume and sharing his good fortune with his customers. This uncommon philosophy earned him a“rags to riches” lifetime story, for Mr. Walton was earning a salary of only $75.00 per month in 1940! In 1950, after running a flourishing Ben Franklin franchise (which are variety discount stores located in small towns all across America. for five years, Sam Walton opened his own store called “Walton's” in Bentonville, Arkansas. The residents of this tiny community didn't realize it at the time, but it was to become the location for the headquarters of the future world's largest retailer! In 1962, Mr. Walton opened his first chain discount department store in Rogers, Arkansas. His assistant named it “Walmart.” In 1977, it had grown to 153 stores with $479 million in sales. This was a tremendous accomplishment in only 15 years, most of it being attributed to the undying practices of low pricing and top-notch customer backing. Four years later, auto services, fine jewelry, and pharmaceuticals were added to the booming business, making it into the Walmart tha's so familiar to millions of people today. For the sake of his business and for the people it served, Sam Walton had always striven for success. One of the greatest highlights of his life came on March 17, 1992 when he was awarded the Medal of Freedom Award, the nation's highest honor awarded to a civilian, by President George Bush, who called him, “a man who epitomizes the American dream . . . a devoted family man, business leader, and statesman for democracy.”
「省錢，讓生活更美好。」這是沃爾瑪折價商店的廣告宣傳口號，沃爾瑪公司擁有全美國規模最大的折價連鎖商店。也許你沒聽過沃爾瑪，但這家連鎖店在美國以外的44 個國家也非常有名氣！ 1962 年，山姆．沃爾頓創辦了沃爾瑪折價商 店，並在1969 年設立為公司。2007 年，《富比士》雜誌的全球500 大企業排名中，它是全球最大的公司（以營業額計算） 沃爾瑪擁有一段非常激勵人心的成立歷史。山姆• 沃爾頓體現了企業家精神，是一位具有遠見的人。他設想以具競爭性的價格，及完善的顧客服務來改變零售業的原貌。他改變了批發商只求利潤的作風，採用薄利多銷的方式來創造利潤， 並且和顧客分享他的財富。這種與眾不同的作風讓他「由窮致富」，誰能想到他在1940 年的時候每個月才賺75 美元呢！ 1950 年，山姆• 沃爾頓在生意興隆的班•富蘭克林商店工作了五年後（美國小鎮到處都是各式各樣的折價商店），山姆在美國阿肯色州本頓威爾市開了第一間自己的店「沃爾頓」。那時候，當地的居民都不知道，這裡之後將成為世界規模最大的零售店總部！ 1962 年，沃爾頓在美國阿肯色州的洛杰斯開了第一家折價百貨，助理將它命名為「沃爾瑪」。1977 年，沃爾瑪已經成長到153 間店，銷售額達到4.79 億美元。能在15 年內做到這樣的成績實在很不得了，這大多都歸功於貫徹執行的低價， 和一流的顧客服務。四年後，汽車服務、珠寶和藥物陸續增加到日益興隆的百貨中，成就了今日眾所皆知的沃爾瑪百貨。 為了生意上的發展，和其所服務的大眾，山姆．沃爾頓不斷力求成功。1992 年3 月17 日，山姆享受到了至高的榮耀──由喬治．布希總統頒給他傑出成就公民的最高獎「自由勳章」；布希總統稱他為「美國夢的象徵、忠實家庭的男人、事業上的領導及民主的政治家。」 | 
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