Reminisces of Sam

Ed Clifford, Executive Director of the Chamber, started working for Wal-Mart as a buyer in 1984 when the company had $4 billion in sales, compared to $285 billion today. At the time Wal-Mart only had 2 Distribution Centers.

Sam Walton personally recruited him from Tulsa where he was working for a competitor. At the time Wal-Mart had 21 buyers and as Ed said, “Sam, would have liked to only have one. He hated overhead.”

He went onto tell me, “Sam hated technology but knew he had to use it. He never used a calculator. If he couldn’t do a calculation in his head, it wasn’t of importance to him.” It is ironic that Wal-Mart’s use of technology has been such a key driver in their growth. “Sam understood the importance of technology. He just didn’t like it. He wanted to open one store at a time and get a chance to meet everyone at the stores at least once a year.”