Sam’s Club provides almost every conceivable product and service for its members, including household goods, clothes, optical services, auto care, and much, much more!
With the massive success, Sam’s Club continually reports, you may be wondering how the warehouse retailer structures their business and whether or not there are franchise opportunities.
Well, here is everything I have discovered about Sam’s Club’s business structure throughout my research!
Key Takeaways
Is Sam’s Club A Franchise In 2022?
Sam’s Club is not a franchise because the warehouse retailer’s parent company, Walmart, owns and operates all of the business practices. However, to get involved at Sam’s Club, you can become an employee with probable career advancement or become a vendor at your local store.
To learn more about how to get involved at Sam’s Club and the specific reasons Sam’s Club does not offer licenses to their business model, keep on reading!
Why Is Sam’s Club Not A Franchise?
There are a few different reasons why Sam’s Club chooses not to franchise its warehouses. One of the main reasons is the massive size of the warehouses and the number of employees they house.
For example, the average size of a Sam’s Club warehouse is 134,000 square feet and is home to between 160 and 175 employees.
Sam’s Club does not franchise their warehouses because the corporate leaders feel it would not only be too much responsibility for someone attempting to franchise, but it would also cost a lot per location.
Additionally, the Sam’s Club warehouse-style business setup may not be convenient for those searching for a business license because there are specific qualifications to run a warehouse.
Finally, franchising is not an option at Sam’s Club because the company wants each warehouse to run as smoothly as possible and has the resources to do so.
Essentially, the time and effort to teach someone how to franchise the business would outweigh the potential profits.
How Can You Get Involved At Sam’s Club?
Although Sam’s Club does not offer franchising opportunities, there are several ways to get involved with the company, and they are all relatively simple!
One way to connect with Sam’s Club is as a small business owner. Sam’s Club offers digital marketing services, payroll, legal planning, and health care services for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Another way to get involved at Sam’s Club as a business owner is to become a supplier at the warehouse retailer.
Sam’s Club is home to products from billion-dollar companies and small businesses with only a few employees on staff. To become a vendor at Sam’s Club, you must apply to do so.
To apply, visit Sam’s Club’s parent company at walmart.com/suppliers and click on the ‘Apply To Be A Supplier’ link on the left-hand side of the page.
Then, follow the instructions on the form and submit it for corporate review.
It is important to keep in mind that applying to be a Sam’s Club vendor does not guarantee your product will end up in Sam’s Club’s store.
The final way to involve yourself with Sam’s Club is to become an employee or a manager if you are interested in a leadership position.
Throughout their 600+ stores across the world, Sam’s Club employs thousands of people in hourly and management positions, offering opportunities for promotion.
About 75% of Sam’s Club managers were promoted from their hourly position and can earn between $45-$75k a year with added incentives.
How Do You Invest In Sam’s Club?
Because of the continuous success of Sam’s Club, you may be wondering how to invest in the retail giant.
Unfortunately, you cannot buy stock in Sam’s Club as Sam’s Club is owned and operated by Walmart and is therefore not a publicly-traded company.
So, to invest in Sam’s Club, you have to do it indirectly by purchasing stock in Walmart instead.
How Many Stores Does Sam’s Club Have?
Sam Club operates warehouses in about 600 locations across the United States as well as other locations around the world. Some of the countries that house Sam’s Club warehouses include:
- Brazil
- 32 locations in China
- 165 locations in Mexico
- Puerto Rico
If you are looking to learn more, you can see our related posts on whether or not Dollar General is a franchise, if Walgreens is a franchise, and if Costco is a franchise.
Conclusion
Even though Sam’s Club is not a franchise, there are plenty of ways to get involved with the retail warehouse leader. Sam’s Club offers services for small businesses and promotion opportunities for employees.
Sam’s Club operates 600+ membership-only warehouses and does not offer any investment opportunities because their parent company, Walmart, owns and operates the retail warehouses.
Therefore, to invest in Sam’s Club, you can buy stock in Walmart to do so, as Sam’s Club does not offer any stock options.