1) The document discusses the success of Walmart and compares it to the Dutch discount retailer Action. 2) Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Arkansas and has grown to be the largest company in the world by revenue, with over $476 billion in revenue and 2.1 million employees across 11,000 stores in 27 countries. 3) Action is a fast growing Dutch discount retailer founded in 1993, which now has over 500 stores in multiple European countries and over 20,000 employees. It was acquired by a private equity firm in 2011 in a deal worth over 500 million euros.

1. BLOG
Is the Dutch discounter Action mirroring the success
of the world's largest company by revenue Walmart?
April, 2015

2. The world's largest company by revenue is a discounter
and has more than 2 million employees.
Sam Walton and Walmart, some statistics:
Sam Walton (1918 – 1992) is among the most successful entrepreneurs in the world.
Walton began as a franchisee in Bentonville, Arkansas in 1945.
When the lease for the location expired, Walton couldn't reach an agreement for
renewal, so he opened a new franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas, naming it
"Walton's Five and Dime”. *)
This store is now serving as the Walmart Visitor Center.
In 1962 Walton opened his first Walmart Discount City store in Rogers, Arkansas.
Within its first five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas.
*) Five-and-dime also called five-and-ten-cent store,
a store offering a wide assortment of inexpensive items,
formerly costing five or ten cents,for personal and household use.

3. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that
operates a chain of discount department stores and warehouse stores.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam
Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969.
It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 71 banners .
Walmart is the largest grocery retailer in the U.S. Walmart surpassed Royal Dutch
Shell in 2014 as the world's largest company by revenue, $ 476 billion vs $ 459
billion. The numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the list are like Shell also in the petroleum
industry.
Walmart is the 10th largest public (= listed) corporation measured in market
value $ 276 billion, Apple Inc. is at the top with a market value of $ 647 billion.

4. Walmart is the largest private employer in the world with 2,1 million employees!
Only two public (= state) employers are larger:
the United States Department of Defense with 3,2 million employees and
the Peoples Liberation Army of China with 2,3 million employees.
Walmart is a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton
family, who own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company,
Walton Enterprises.
Walton family members are among the 1,826 billionaires in the world. Christy
Walton and Jim Walton rank number 7 and 8, they own more than $ 40 billion
each. At the top of the billionaires list is Bill Gates with $ 79 billion.

5. Profile of Action
Action is a fast growing international non-food discounter with more than 500
shops in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany , France and with more than 20.000
employees.
Action was founded by Gerard Deen and Rob Wagemaker, later joined by Gerard’s
brother Boris Deen in Enkhuizen in 1993.
End of 1994 there were 8 retail shops, and end of 2002 Action has grown to 94
retail shops. The first retail shop in Belgium was opened in 2005, and the first
retail shop in Germany in 2009.
In 2011 Action was acquired by venture capitalist 3i Group plc, London.
The three founders of Action received half a billion euro’s.

6. The strategy of 3i is to keep the business model unchanged and to speed up the
growth by expanding the number of retail shops.
In 2012 the 300th retail shop was opened, in 2013 the 400th, in 2014 the 500th.
In the Dutch press it is suggested that the incumbent retail stores HEMA, Blokker,
Etos, Kruidvat and Zeeman are seriously hurt by the competition of Action.
Action is an example of an entrepreneurial firm. On their website they emphasize
their “getting things done” mentality.
Sources: Action, Dutch Press, Forbes, Fortune, Walmart, Wikipedia (2015)
Tags: entrepreneurship, retail, discount, venture capital, Sam Walton, Walmart, Action, 3i
© Dick Manuel, April 2015