The mission statement of a company is essential to briefly explaining to customers what the goal of the company is. This statement is vital to the success of the company because the mission statement influences both customers’ decisions to shop with the company or not, and the way that the company will serve its community.
One company that almost every American has had contact with is Walmart, and while it is multinational corporation that has seen great success, it too, has a mission statement. The one sentence mission statement of Walmart is, “To save people money so that they can live better.” This simple statement demonstrates Walmart’s commitment to serving communities and its customers to the fullest extent as well as provides a direction for the company’s operations that will ensure that it remains competitive with similar stores.
Walmart’s History
The history of Walmart has had an impact on both the mission statement of the company as well as the way that the company operates. The first Walmart was opened in 1962 by a man named Sam Walton. As a man who grew up in the Midwest and a former military servicemember, Mr. Sam, as he was called, was committed to the service of people in his community through retail. By offering retail goods at affordable prices and creating a shopping experience that was enjoyable, Mr. Sam created the foundations of a hugely successful multinational corporation.
The humble beginnings and hard work of Sam Walton are what prompted him to make this statement, that would later give birth to the mission statement of Walmart, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what its like to save and have a better life.” The focus of Walmart, since the beginning, has been on improving the quality of life for its shoppers, so creating a mission statement that reflects this goal has been imperative to keeping the company’s subsequent achievements and goals in line with company values.
Walmart Today
Aside from fulfilling its mission statement in strictly business areas, Walmart has taken their goal of helping people live better into surrounding communities. In June of 2019, a Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas dedicated itself to a new local engagement campaign where employees of Walmart are encouraged to serve their communities and help decide where donated funds from Walmart would be the most useful. In 2019 alone, Walmart donated $42 million to local organizations, their employees completed more than 776,000 hours of community service, and the company donated 640 million pounds of food to local food banks.
Walmart claims in its mission statement that they exist to help people live better, and the philanthropic efforts of the company show that they are living out their promise to people.
To Conclude
From its humble beginnings as a simple retail store started by a midwestern man, to a multinational corporation, Walmart is a great example of the success that can come from following the mission statement of a company. The fact that Walmart’s mission statement transcends the changes of time shows that they are both committed to lasting change and are prepared to succeed for years to come.
