FAYETTEVILLE What would Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton say in 2008 ?
As Rob Walton, chairman of the Wal-Mart Board and son of the late Sam Walton, looked out at the audience gathered at Bud Walton Arena on Friday morning, he answered that question with confidence.
Hed look around and love this enthusiasm, Rob Walton said. Hed be thrilled with our mission: Save Money. Live Better. Hed be smiling about our $ 4 prescription program.
Walton went on with example after example. But his message was simple.
I know my dad would be proud of this company and proud of you, Rob Walton said.
Walton referred to a speech his father gave on March 17, 1992, when former President George H. W. Bush traveled to the Wal-Mart Home Office in Bentonville to present Sam Walton with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. There was one line the Wal-Mart founder said, almost as an aside, that captured the moment.
I thought we were quietly living our lives down here and getting away with it, Rob Walton quoted.
Imagine if someone told Sam Walton that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. now operates 7, 343 stores worldwide. In the U. S. alone, there are 937 Wal-Mart stores, 2, 527 Supercenters, 593 Sams Clubs and 138 Neighborhood Markets. Wal-Mart operates or owns interest in 3, 148 international stores in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, China, United Kingdom, Japan, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
There were 380, 000 Wal-Mart associates when my father said those words, Rob Walton said. Today, there are more than 2 million. And greater things are still ahead of us.
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