Entrepreneurship in Retailing: Leopold Stiefel’s “Big Idea” and the Growth of Media Markt and Saturn

Retailing is a challenging industry to enter and be successful in. How do great retail businesses get started and grow? What are the hallmarks of a successful retail entrepreneur? Most students of retailing know the story of Sam Walton and how he founded and built up Wal-Mart to a point from which it could surge ahead to eventually become the number one retailer in the world. Many are also familiar with the stories of his predecessors, among them great American retail entrepreneurs such as Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck, Frank Winfield Woolworth, and James Cash Penney. However, the experiences of successful contemporary retailers outside of the United States, e.g., those in Europe and Asia, are not so well known on an international scale. These retail leaders’ stories and insights are worth recounting, as they offer valuable guidance to budding retail entrepreneurs and managers setting up shops around the world.