Walmart store manager’s 32-year career shows the power of retention

Oscar Romero’s Walmart career started in the fall of 1992 with a temporary job in a Christmas tree lot. Thirty-two years later, he runs the Calexico, California, store and leads more than 500 associates in a border community where many shoppers come from Mexicali, a reminder that retail careers at Walmart can stretch far beyond the first assignment if the right openings, and the right managers, line up.

The path was not automatic. Romero’s early goal was basic: do the work well and show up with the right attitude. That first break turned into a long tenure because he stayed visible on the floor, built relationships and kept telling managers what he wanted next. He now says leadership starts with quick check-ins and real conversations, the kind that make associates feel seen and respected enough to stay engaged.

Calexico’s staffing numbers show how unusual that kind of retention is in retail. Nearly 200 associates at the store have been there for more than 20 years, and about 30 have stayed more than three decades. Another profile put the number of long-tenured associates at more than 200, reinforcing the same point: this is not a store where people drift in and out after a season. It is a workplace where many workers have built careers over decades.

Romero keeps his first Walmart paycheck in his office as a reminder that a temporary role can become a career. That detail matters for hourly workers trying to read the system from the inside. The lesson is not that everyone will follow the same path, but that advancement at Walmart tends to come from making your goals known, taking the shift when it appears and staying reliable long enough for managers to trust you with the next step.

His own background helps explain why Calexico feels different to him. A 2014 profile said Romero was born in Los Angeles, his family moved to Calexico from Mexicali, and he later returned to Calexico after managing a Walmart in San Diego for four years. That return gave him a store in the same community that shaped his family, and it tied his career to a place where the store is part of the town’s daily life.

Walmart’s own careers materials back up the broader pipeline behind stories like Romero’s. The company says it has invested $1 billion in associate training and that 75% of salaried managers began as hourly associates. In a business known for turnover, Calexico shows what retention looks like when training, visibility and promotion are treated as real operating tools instead of slogans.