Walmart surpassed $1 trillion in market capitalization this week — a spectacular feat for any company, let alone a traditionally brick-and-mortar business. The retail giant reached the milestone by developing an effective online platform, embracing artificial intelligence and understanding that maximizing profits is in the best interests of workers.
Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, the original Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, offered its customers the same thing it does today: everyday low prices for household goods. By 1980, the business recorded $1 billion in annual sales, a milestone achieved faster than any other business at that point.
Had Walmart stuck to traditional sales in traditional stores, the company would not be in the same league as Apple or Nvidia. In 2016, the company had a reckoning and closed over 260 locations. The surging popularity of online shopping and easy delivery had experts questioning if Walmart could survive competition from digital giants like Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.
But fierce competition forces survivors to raise their game and make hard choices. Resting on old laurels or long-ago achievements is the surest path to obsolescence. Walmart took on the challenge and has since ramped up its at-home delivery services and made significant strides in automation, as well as expanding its number of stores.
Doug McMillon, who stepped down last weekend after 12 years as CEO, reduced high employee turnover and improved poor customer experiences. McMillion hiked wages in 2015 to $12 an hour and $18.25 an hour in July last year. He did so not because government required it but because the market compelled it.
It worked. Walmart, the world’s largest private employer, provides jobs for 1.6 million American workers, as well as ample opportunity for career growth. Some 75 percent of store managers started as hourly associates. The company’s new CEO John Furner is one of these success stories. Furner, who began as a store worker in the 1990s, is credited with many of Walmart’s digital advancements and efficiency gains in recent years.
Walmart’s big week serves as a reminder that customers, employees and investors can all win all at once.
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