William T. Dillard
William Thomas Dillard (September 2, 1914 – February 8, 2002) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Dillard's department store chain.
Early life
Dillard was born on September 2, 1914, to Thomas J. Dillard and Hattie Mae Gibson Dillard, both grocers.<ref name="encyclopedia">Encyclopedia of Arkansas</ref> At 12 years old, Dillard began working for his father who owned a local general store.<ref name="nytimes" /> Dillard found employment with Sears & Roebuck Company where he gained experience in retail business. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Business Administration and earned an MBA from Columbia University.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="nytimes">Leslie Kaufman, William T. Dillard, Founder Of a Retail Chain, Dies at 87, The New York Times, February 09, 2002</ref> He was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Career
Dillard returned to Arkansas and opened his first retail store in 1938 in the town of Nashville, Arkansas, after he borrowed US$8,000 from his father to sign the lease and install shelves, and stocking those shelves with merchandise supplied on generous credit, extended on the basis of wholesalers' long dealings with his father.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="nytimes"/> In 1948, he sold his Nashville store and opened stores in Texas, followed by more stores across the Southern United States.<ref name="nytimes"/> In 1964, he opened his first store in a mall in Austin, Texas, and foreshadowed the boom of malls.<ref name="nytimes"/> In 1965, he opened more stores in malls in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.<ref name="encyclopedia"/> He used computerized checkouts to track inventory.<ref name="nytimes"/> By the end of the 20th century, Dillard's was the third largest department store chain in the United States.<ref name="encyclopedia"/> He retired in 1998. His eldest son, William T. Dillard II, took over as CEO and his second son, Alex Dillard, as president.<ref name="nytimes"/> His daughters, Drue Corbusier and Denise Mahaffy, and a third son, Mike Dillard, serve as vice presidents.<ref name="nytimes"/>
Personal life and death
Dillard married Alexa Latimer on June 9, 1940, and they had five children.<ref name="encyclopedia"/> He was an Episcopalian, and a Republican. He died on February 8, 2002, at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 87.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="nytimes"/> In February 2020, the University of Arkansas announced the naming of William Dillard Accounting Department in honor of his legacy.
References
https://news.uark.edu/articles/52209/accounting-department-named-for-william-dillard