Walmart 2000 Annual Report Download - page 14

2000
In 1999, Discount
Store News hon-
ored Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc. as
“Retailer of the
Century” with a
commemora-
tive 200-page
issue of our
magazine. As editor of the
magazine I’d like to take a moment
to explain why we chose Wal-Mart
for this rare honor.
Wal-Mart and Discount Store News
essentially grew up together. The
first issue of DSN was published in
1962, the same year that Sam
Walton opened the first Wal-Mart
store in Bentonville, Ark. And as
the decades passed, we had time to
learn what makes this Company
truly special — the secret that has
allowed Wal-Mart to outpace every
other retailer in history.
The difference, we believe, is the
spirit that pervades the Company’s
culture. It’s obvious to anyone who
visits a Wal-Mart store, district
office or company headquarters.
It’s a spirit where individuals are
proud of their work — a spirit
where the Associates know that the
Company is interested in them, and
pass that same level of interest on
to their individual customers.
To me, this unique environment is
amplified by the fact that the
organization doesn’t slot anyone
into a particular job or category.
Store managers can be moved to
headquarters or to international
operations. Distribution experts can
suddenly find themselves in the
financial area. And believe it or not,
you can even move from human
resources to become President of
Wal-Mart Stores, just as Tom
Coughlin did. Wal-Mart believes in
A Tribute to a Culture
A Tribute to a Culture
“ The reason we
chose Wal-Mart as
Retailer of the Century
is that Wal-Mart cares
about the individual,
whether he or she
is an Associate or
a customer.”
Tony Lisanti
By: Tony Lisanti, Editor & Associate Publisher Discount Store News
WAL-MART NAMED
RETAILER OF THE CENTURY
BY DISCOUNT STORE NEWS
WAL-MART NAMED
RETAILER OF THE CENTURY
BY DISCOUNT STORE NEWS
12