t than by pricing it at $1.20. I might make only half the profit per item, but because I was selling three times as many, the overall profit was much greater. Simple enough. But this is really the essence of discounting: by cutting your price, you can boost your sales to a point where you earn far more at the cheaper retail than you would have by selling the item at the higher price. In retailer language, you can lower your markup but earn more because of the increased volume." Sam's adherence to this pricing philosophy was unshakable, as one of Wal-Mart's first store manager's recalls:
             "Sam wouldn't let us hedge on a price at all. Say the list price was $1.98, but we had paid only 50 cents. Initially, I would say, 'Well, it's originally $1.98, so why don't we sell it for $1.25?' And, he'd say, 'No. We paid 50 cents for it. Mark it up 30 percent, and that's it. No matter what you pay for it, if we get a great deal, pass it on to the customer.' And of course that's what we did." And that's what we continue to do - work diligently to find great deals to pass on to our customers. Thanks to the legacy of Sam Walton, Wal-Mart is a store you can count on every day to bring you value for your dollar. And that's why at Wal-Mart, you never have to wait for a sale to get your money's worth!
             Wal-Mart Stores are an irresistible (or at least unavoidable) retail force that has yet to meet any immovable objects. They follow three pricing philosophies: Every Day Low Prices, Rollback, and Special Buy. Bigger than Carrefour, Royal Ahold, and Kroger combined, it is the world's #1 retailer, with more than 4,500 stores, including discount stores (Wal-Mart), combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters), and membership-only warehouse stores (Sam's). Most of its stores are in the US, but Wal-Mart is expanding internationally; it is the #1 retailer in Canada and Mexico. Wal-Mart also has operations in South America, Asia, ...