NEW YORK ( ) -- "Now, when it comes to Wal-Mart, there's no two ways about it: I'm cheap," wrote Wal-Mart ( - ) founder Sam Walton in his 1992 memoir "Sam Walton: Made in America."
If the notoriously cheap Walton were alive today, he would probably be surprised that his pioneering profit formula -- keep costs low so that prices are as low as possible and customers buy more -- is now virtually impossible to maintain. Full blame for that can be pinned on employees demanding higher wages and the rise of e-commerce giants such as Amazon ( - ) , which are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Perhaps the retail legend saw some of...