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Acquired / episode intelligence

Walmart

19 Jul 2022 56 published claims 2 attributable people
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Speakers in the public record

David RosenthalBen Gilbert

Claim mix

belief 29evaluation 8uncertainty 6observation 4commitment 4prediction 2preference 2recommendation 1

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Every row below preserves an exact excerpt. Identified speakers are linked; unresolved voices are labeled and excluded from people counts.

Claim ledger

The useful parts, with receipts.

56 published records

03 / observation

The way to do it on a year by year, annualized, or even decade basis would be the same way that we did Berkshire, which is effectively look at their annual growth rate, set some hurdle rate, and then decide what constitutes an A+, what constitutes an F, and do it on a fine grade basis year by year.

“The way to do it on a year by year, annualized, or even decade basis would be the same way that we did Berkshire, which is effectively look at their annual growth rate, set some hurdle rate, and then decide what constitutes an A+, what constitutes an F, and do it on a fine grade basis year by year.”
Speaker
Ben Gilbert
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

11 / belief

The other is if all you've ever done in your entire career is being really high-performing in very successful environments, then that is all you know how to do and that's the bar that you hold yourself to. I think there's total merit to both.

“The other is if all you've ever done in your entire career is being really high-performing in very successful environments, then that is all you know how to do and that's the bar that you hold yourself to. I think there's total merit to both.”
Speaker
Ben Gilbert
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

17 / belief

All right, I got one more, which is, again, I said earlier in the episode, but I think we now have to institute a caveat or an exception to what has been our most golden lesson on Acquired, which is the focus on what makes your beer taste better.

“All right, I got one more, which is, again, I said earlier in the episode, but I think we now have to institute a caveat or an exception to what has been our most golden lesson on Acquired, which is the focus on what makes your beer taste better.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

19 / belief

There's a labor point to make here too, which is that I think in closing all those Sam's Clubs, they basically lay off all the employees and then say, all right, now you can interview at this building that will be converted into an ecommerce distribution center and we can figure out if you're a fit.

“There's a labor point to make here too, which is that I think in closing all those Sam's Clubs, they basically lay off all the employees and then say, all right, now you can interview at this building that will be converted into an ecommerce distribution center and we can figure out if you're a fit.”
Speaker
Ben Gilbert
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

29 / evaluation

If you look at a Jensen Huang take on this, his would be like, oh, it turns out, actually, everyone else doing three-sided polygons that was right, so we're going to do everything we can to immediately move to that.

“If you look at a Jensen Huang take on this, his would be like, oh, it turns out, actually, everyone else doing three-sided polygons that was right, so we're going to do everything we can to immediately move to that.”
Speaker
Ben Gilbert
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

30 / belief

The other piece of the business that we haven't talked about at all, but is an interesting piece of Walmart's business and competitive vector to Walmart, is Sam's Clubs, which were started in 1983, I believe.

“The other piece of the business that we haven't talked about at all, but is an interesting piece of Walmart's business and competitive vector to Walmart, is Sam's Clubs, which were started in 1983, I believe.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

35 / belief

Walmart, I think, is now the largest US commercial producer of solar power because they put solar panels on the roofs of Walmarts, and then now in parking lots too, and then it ends up being cheaper.

“Walmart, I think, is now the largest US commercial producer of solar power because they put solar panels on the roofs of Walmarts, and then now in parking lots too, and then it ends up being cheaper.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

36 / belief

I was going to bring this up later, but I think he says in the book that he believes he has spent more time in Kmarts than any nonindividual store employee of Kmart including Kmart's senior management.

“I was going to bring this up later, but I think he says in the book that he believes he has spent more time in Kmarts than any nonindividual store employee of Kmart including Kmart's senior management.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

46 / belief

Walton enterprises, the structure of the family, and the ownership of the stock, I think, did go a long way to reinforcing this mentality even after Sam passed away. But now that we're mostly on to the third generation of Waltons, as you said, I think, Walton family members own more professional sports franchises than any other family out there.

“Walton enterprises, the structure of the family, and the ownership of the stock, I think, did go a long way to reinforcing this mentality even after Sam passed away. But now that we're mostly on to the third generation of Waltons, as you said, I think, Walton family members own more professional sports franchises than any other family out there.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

50 / evaluation

I think the parent companies, especially Kresge, were willing to take losses and have lower margins in Kmart the way Walmart won and that is just an amazing story we're going to tell now because all of those others, the problem wasn't the mindset of margins.

“I think the parent companies, especially Kresge, were willing to take losses and have lower margins in Kmart the way Walmart won and that is just an amazing story we're going to tell now because all of those others, the problem wasn't the mindset of margins.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired

51 / evaluation

I think when Sam was working as a salesman in Des Moines at Penney's, it was an even higher touch version of this, I believe, where a customer would come into the store, the salesperson would greet them, escort them around, and curate their shopping trip.

“I think when Sam was working as a salesman in Des Moines at Penney's, it was an even higher touch version of this, I believe, where a customer would come into the store, the salesperson would greet them, escort them around, and curate their shopping trip.”
Speaker
David Rosenthal
Episode
Walmart
Publisher
Acquired
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