Sam & Bud Walton: Reflections - YouTube

We've had the most amazing relationship in my opinion for two brothers over the years that have really been a great working relationship as well as a family relationship. It's very, very unusual the relationship that we've had and I think the respect that we've always had for one another. Disagree, yes, both of us at times. You win some and you lose some. But after it's over with, we're just going down the road and what decision was made and that was it. It's been very rewarding to look back. We're talking somewhere in a neighborhood of forty-some years now in a closed business room. Most of us didn't have any money. I bought most of mine and finally got some of it paid out when we left Newport. It's quite a story but we relied on each other. You always, to me, seemed like a balance wheel. I wanted to gamble to a greater degree always than maybe you were ready to do. I would listen to you. We'd argue a little bit maybe but once we decided we were going to do go or not go, why we were both together. And I think that was something that we can be awfully proud of. I couldn't afford to pay you but I said, but if you'll come in and help me for, or I want to learn the business for a while, I'll pay you thirty-five cents an hour. No, I wouldn't. Wouldn't that merge? I don't think it's that much.

在我看来，我和兄弟之间拥有了最令人惊奇的关系，这些年来我们真的建立了一种很好的工作关系，同时也是家庭关系。我们之间的关系非常非常不寻常，我觉得我们一直对彼此怀有的尊重也是如此。当然，我们也有不同意见，有时候我们都会失败。但事后，我们继续前行，接受那个决定就行了。回顾过去的经历是非常有意义的。要知道我们现在在一个封闭的商业圈中已经经历了四十多年。大多数时候我们都没有钱。我买了我的大部分股份，最终在我们离开纽波特时拿回了一部分。这是一个相当的故事，但我们依靠彼此。你总给我一种平衡的感觉。我总是想要更大胆地冒险，或许你还没准备好。我会听你的建议。我们可能会争论一下，但一旦我们决定要做或不做什么，我们就会在一起。我认为这是我们可以引以为豪的事情。我负担不起付你的工资，但我说，如果你愿意来帮我一段时间，或者我想学习业务一段时间，我会给你每小时三十五美分的报酬。不对，不是那么多。

Maybe I didn't pay you. I think it's fifty, no, fifty dollars a month. Fifty dollars a month? I had subsistence from the government, I think it's seventy-five maybe or something. I had a lot of everybody. What it allowed us to do was when Bud came in, I really had me assistant manager and he started learning the business. And of course, the things that we know are important today were applied in that first Newport store Bud you remember. We worked our heads off. We tried to take care of our customers as best we could. But it allowed me to get involved in the Chamber of Commerce and get involved in the Industrial Committee. It was a great place to start. But anyway, we had a great relationship and a great start there for our partnership. And then you went your way and went, bought that forty-seven thousand dollar store in Versailles. Right, right. Not profit. And Helen and I went ahead with Newport. And the story I think is pretty well known at Newport. I've been terrible about setting goals all my life and trying to get there. And one of my goals as you well know was to make that the best store in Arkansas. And we got there before we left town. We became the biggest store, most profitable, Ben Franklin store in the state of Arkansas. I don't really understand quite how we succeeded. One of the real lessons I guess Bud is that neither one of us knew the business. And we knew so little about the variety of store business that we had to take the book that was written by Ben Franklin and apply the principles and apply the controls and the merchandise, merchandising programs that they outlined for us. But of course, knowing you and knowing I, myself a little bit, we added on, didn't we?

也许我没有付给你钱。我记得是五十，不，是五十美元一个月。五十美元一个月？我从政府得到生活补助，我觉得可能是七十五或者其他数额。我当时和所有人都有很多联系。当Bud进来的时候，我真的拥有了助理经理，他开始学习业务。当然，我们今天知道的重要事项都适用于新港店。Bud，你还记得吗？我们辛勤工作，尽力照顾客户。但这使我得以参与商会和工业委员会。这是一个很好的开始。总之，我们在合作伙伴关系中建立了很好的关系，有了很好的开始。然后你走了自己的路，买了那个四万七千美元的Versailles店。对，对。并非纯利润。Helen 和我则继续在新港经营。我认为在新港的故事相当知名。我一辈子都很糟糕地设定目标并努力实现。像你们知道的那样，我的一个目标是使那家店成为阿肯色州最好的店铺。在我们离开之前我们达到了这个目标。我们成为了阿肯色州最大、最有利润的本·富兰克林店。我不太明白我们是如何成功的。我想Bud，一个真正的教训是，我们两个都不了解这个行业。我们对于各种店铺业务知之甚少，所以我们不得不学习本·富兰克林所撰写的书籍中的原则和控制措施，以及他们为我们规划的商品销售方案。但当然，了解你和了解我自己一点，我们也进行了一些添加对吧？

That's exactly right. We were mavericks even then. And we started doing strange things like cranking up ice cream machines on a sidewalk on Saturday night. Popcorn machine. On the other end of the sidewalk. We could talk on anything we could talk on that looked like it might have a chance to sell wherever. It made an easy life actually. We worked hard. That's right. But it gave us a vehicle to ride on.

没错。即使那时我们就是特立独行的人。我们开始做一些奇怪的事情，比如在周六晚上在人行道上启动冰淇淋机。爆米花机在人行道的另一端。我们可以谈论任何看起来可能有销售机会的东西。实际上，这让生活变得轻松。我们努力工作。没错。但这给了我们一个可以依赖的事业。

That's right, exactly. Without having to buy merchandise, you know, our sales all the time, our distribution centers, not having to do the thing we'd have to do when we built Walmart. Hello, my left Newport. We lost our lease left Newport. Bud was situated in Versailles doing great. Didn't ever did get around to hiring him a manager and going fishing all the time, but he did do his fair fishing. Then we came to Bentonville and that eventful date May the 9th, 1950. Fifty.

没错，完全正确。不需要购买商品，你知道，我们的销售一直都很好，我们的分销中心也不用像建沃尔玛时那样做事。你好，我原来在纽波特。我们失去了在纽波特的租约。巴德当时在凡尔赛做得很好。虽然他没能雇一个经理并一直去钓鱼，但他确实钓了不少鱼。然后我们来到本顿维尔，那个让人发生变化的日子，1950年5月9日。五十。

And Bud, you thought you bought a big store. The store in Bentonville that we bought, you remember you came down and looked at the location, looked at the town. There were three little old variety stores here. You shook your head. We stood over there on the corner by where the old bank was, counted traffic. It wasn't hardly anybody on the sidewalk. And Mr. Harris and Storle did become available. He and his family recommended that they did decide to sell it, but they were only doing $32,000 a year.

巴德，你当时认为你买了一家大商店。我们买下的那家在本顿维尔的商店，你记得你过来看过地点，看过镇子。这里原来有三家小老式的百货店。你摇了摇头。我们站在那里，靠近旧银行的角落，看着来往的车辆。人行道上几乎没有人。哈里斯先生和斯特尔夫随后就卖掉了这家店。他和他的家人建议他们决定卖掉，但他们每年只有3.2万美元的营业额。

Isn't that amazing? And we've been running that Newport store up and got it up to $225. And we come up here just because of, well, you know why we came. It was the area that attracted us. That's what we started with in Bentonville. The chain store bug had already bitten me. And it wasn't long as soon as I could afford it all, started casting around for another location. And where was that? Fayetteville on the square. It was that little 18-foot store. That shotgun. 1952?

这不是很惊人吗？我们一直经营着那家新港店，生意做得很好，已经达到了225美元。我们来到这里只是因为，嗯，你知道我们为什么来的。那个地区吸引了我们。这就是我们在本顿维尔开始的地方。连锁店的概念已经深深影响了我。很快，我就有了足够的资金，开始寻找另一个地点。那是在哪里呢？费耶特维尔的广场上。那是一个只有18英尺的小店。那种...什么来着？长枪店。是在1952年吗？

1952. We got the store at Fayetteville started, didn't we? Right. And it became very successful. So then one day I got a call from Ben Franklin and they said, hey, we got a store in Kansas City. And you remember the story? I certainly do. And I thought, well, if I've got to go to Kansas City, I've got to get me an airplane. And I had never flown. Probably first looked at it in 53, I'd say.

1952年，我们开始在费耶特维尔的店铺，是吧？对。它变得非常成功。然后有一天，本·富兰克林给我打了电话，说我们在堪萨斯市有一家店铺。你还记得这个故事吗？我当然记得。我想，好吧，如果我要去堪萨斯市，我得找架飞机。我从没飞过。我想大概是在53年第一次看到飞机吧。

And this was our first venture in the shopping center. And there were practically no shopping centers in 1993. That's true. That's exactly right. And this was something entirely new and different. Everybody was skittish of it. Yeah, no one else wanted the franchise. That's one another one of those situations. But I said, well, I'll take half of it. I think I can put in that money together to get half of it. I said, well, if you can, I'll try to do my part.

这是我们在购物中心的第一次冒险。实际上，1993年几乎没有购物中心。没错，完全正确。这是全新而不同的事物。每个人都对此心存恐惧。是的，没有人想要这个特许经营权。这又是一种情况。但我说，我会占一半的份额。我觉得我可以筹到半份的资金。我说，如果你能筹到，我会尽力去做我的那部分。

And we'll go up there and we'll just take another gamble. Sure right. And it was a gamble. It was out 20 miles from the Kansas City City limits. Time we got the store open. White was a winner from the day we opened. It was the best profit store. I know one year it made $30,000, which to us, more money than with everything. I've never ever dreamed about being able to make out of one store.

然后我们会冒一次风险。当然没错。那真的是一次赌注。它距离堪萨斯城20英里。我们开店时。White从开业那天起就赢利。那是最赚钱的店。我记得有一年它赚了3万美元，对我们来说，那是一笔大钱。我从来没有想过一个店能带给我们这么多收益。

But the bottom line is that we develop the formula of how important our hourly associates are for our company. Our company's built on people. The success we've had is because of our people. And I believe that you've believed it from the beginning. All of our associates believe it. We've made partners out of our folks rather than employees. And they know that we've been sincere in trying to share the profits with them. And they, in turn, have worked harder than our competitors.

但最重要的是，我们已经制定了一个公式，说明我们的小时工对于我们公司有多么重要。我们公司是建立在人们之上的。我们取得的成功是因为我们的员工。我相信你从一开始就相信这一点。我们所有的员工都相信这一点。我们已经把员工打造成合作伙伴，而不是仅仅是雇员。他们知道我们是真诚地想要与他们分享利润。他们反过来比我们的竞争对手更加努力地工作。

We've kept our prices lower than our competitors' prices. We've led the nation in cost of doing business in sales per square foot. In all the measurements, you can imagine over about a 15-year period in this business that we've all put together here in Bentonville, Arkansas. And I guess we could say we've overcome a few liabilities because who would have thought we could have done it in Bentonville? I certainly have enjoyed the morning and the reminiscing. And I thank you for our part of it. Well, it's been great.

我们的价格始终低于竞争对手的价格。在每平方英尺销售成本方面，我们一直引领全国。在过去大约15年的时间里，我们在阿肯色州本顿维尔这里共同努力，达成了所有你能想象到的衡量标准。我想我们可以说，我们克服了一些不利因素，因为谁会想到我们能够在本顿维尔做到这一点呢？我当然享受今天早上的回忆。感谢你在其中的付出。嗯，一切都很美好。