History of Wal-Mart

This article covers the history of Wal-Mart, the large international discount retail chain.

The 20th century

Early history

The history of Wal-Mart can be traced back to the 1940s when Sam Walton began his career in retailing. After being interviewed by recruiters from both Sears Roebuck and JC Penney just before graduating from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Sam accepted a job offer from JC Penney.Walton, Sam; Huey, John. "Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story." Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. ISBN 0-553-56283-5.] He began working at a JC Penney store in Marshalltown, Iowa on June 3, 1940, making a salary of $2 a month. During his employment there, Sam was able to meet James Cash Penney, the department store's founder, during a visit to the store. He remained at JC Penney for eighteen months.

In September 1945, Walton acquired, from George Scharlott, the franchise and lease on a Ben Franklin in Newport, Arkansas. The variety store was part of a chain operated by the Butler Brothers, a regional retailer. After three years, Walton increased annual sales from $80,000 to $225,000 by 1948. However, the landlord, P.K. Holmes, declined to renew the lease on favorable terms and Walton was forced to relocate before the end of 1950. Walton was prepared to purchase a five-and-dime from Jim Dodson in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, but the two were $7,000 apart on agreement on a purchase price. On May 9, 1950, Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened Walton's 5 & 10. [Vance H. Trimble, Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man, pp.46-64 (Dutton, 1990) ] Thus, the Ozark Mountain town of 2,900 residents would become the headquarters for the world's largest retailer.

1960s and 1970s

As a typical businessman, Walton was always looking for better deals from his suppliers, and he realized that he could obtain higher sales volume by passing on the savings to his customers, instead of pocketing them. By 1962, he had eleven Walton's storesFrank, T.A. " [http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13796 A Brief History of Wal-Mart] ." "The Washington Monthly." April 1, 2006. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.] Inspired by the successes of other discount department store chains, Walton opened the first store in his own discount chain in Rogers, Arkansas that year. Responsible for the purchase and maintenance of signage, Walton's assistant, Bob Bogle, came up with the name "Wal-Mart" for the new chain. [Trimble, p102] By 1967, the company grew to 24 stores across the state of Arkansas, and had reached $12.6 million in sales, and by 1968, the company opened its first stores outside of Arkansas in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma." [http://www.walmartfacts.com/content/default.aspx?id=3 The Wal-Mart Timeline] ." "Wal-Mart (published on [http://www.walmartfacts.com/ walmartfacts.com] )." Retrieved on July 24, 2006.] The chain continued to add locations in small towns and had 78 stores by 1974. [Trimble, p1392] A inter-store computer network was created to improve communication and ordering, and over the next three years, sales more than tripled from $167.5 million to $479 million. The number of stores had more than doubled to 153. [Trimble, p195] The chain continued to grow dramatically, with 330 stores in 1980 and $1.2 billion in sales; 1,114 by 1985 ($6.4 billion); and 1,528 by 1990, with sales of $25,800,000,000. [Trimble, p218]

The company's first stock split occurred in May 1971 at a market price of $47. By this time, Wal-Mart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma, and entered Tennessee in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. As the company moved into Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 associates, and total sales of $340.3 million.

By 1977, Wal-Mart made its first corporate acquisition, assuming ownership and operation of the Mohr-Value stores in Michigan and Illinois. This was followed by the acquisition of the Hutcheson Shoe Company in 1978.

Also in 1978, Wal-Mart branched out into several new markets, launching its pharmacy, auto service center, and jewelry divisions.

By 1979, with 276 stores and 21,000 associates, Wal-Mart reached $1.248 billion in sales. In November 1980, the company saw its fourth stock split with a market price of $50. Wal-Mart's current logo is introduced.

1980s and 1990s

In 1981, Wal-mart moved into the southeastern U.S. market, opening stores in Georgia and South Carolina, and acquiring 92 Kuhn's Big K stores. They moved into Florida and Nebraska in 1982.

In April 1983, the company opened its first Sam's Club store, a membership-based discount warehouse club, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. They also opened new Wal-Mart stores in Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico and North Carolina, and implemented "people greeters" in all of their stores. In 1984, they entered the Virginia market.

In 1985, with 882 stores with sales of $8.4 billion and 104,000 associates, the company enters Wisconsin and Colorado, and Minnesota stores first open the following year, in 1986.

By the company's twenty-fifth anniversary in 1987, there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and 200,000 associates. Also this year, they had completed their satellite network, a $24 million investment, linking all operating units of the company with their Bentonville Office via two-way voice, data, and one-way video communication. At the time, this was the largest private satellite network, and allowed the corporate office to track inventory, sales, and send instant communication to their stores.Ranade, Sudhanshu. " [http://www.blonnet.com/2005/07/17/stories/2005071700141600.htm Satellite adds speed to Wal-Mart] ." "The Hindu Business Line." July 17, 2005. Retrieved on July 24, 2006] .] Continuing their technological upgrades, they had equipped 90% of their stores with barcode readers by 1988, to further assist in keeping track of their large inventory.

In February 1988, company founder Sam Walton stepped down as Chief Executive Officer, and David Glass was named to succeed him. [Longo, Donald. " [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n4_v27/ai_6348147 Wal-Mart hands CEO crown to Glass - David Glass] ." "Discount Store News (available via [http://www.findarticles.com/ FindArticles] )." February 15, 1988. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.] Walton remained on as Chairman of the Corporate Board of Directors, and the company also restructured their senior management positions, elevating a cadre of executives to positions of greater responsibility.

Also in 1988, the first "Wal-Mart Supercenter" opened in Washington, Missouri. The supercenter concept features everything contained in a standard Wal-Mart discount store, in addition to a tire and oil change shop, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops such as banks, cellular telephone stores, hair and nail salons, video rental stores, and other fast food outlets.

By 1989, Wal-Mart was operating in 26 states with the addition of Michigan, West Virginia, and Wyoming. By 1990, they entered the markets of California, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah. The Wal-Mart Visitor's Center also opened this year on the site of Sam Walton's original store.

The 1990s saw an era of furious growth on an unprecedented scale and the incorporation of several new ideas and technology into the business.

In 1990, US sales had quadrupled to $32 billion over the previous five years [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n13_v30/ai_10990291] and Wal-Mart acquired The McLane Company, a food service distributor, [Staff Writer. " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEED6123AF931A35753C1A966958260 Wal-Mart Agrees To Buy McLane] ." "New York Times." October 2, 1990. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.] which was later sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2003. [" [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416903000007/final10q.htm Wal-Mart SEC Form 10-Q] ." "United States Securities and Exchange Commission." April 30, 2003. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.]

In 1991, the company moved into the Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York markets. Wal-Mart entered the international market in this year, with the opening of their first store in Mexico City. They also acquired Western Merchandisers, Inc. of Amarillo, Texas. 1991 also saw the launch of the "Sam's American Choice" brand of products.Sam Walton passes away on April 5, 1992, shortly after U.S. President George H. W. Bush presents him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His eldest son, S. Robson Walton, succeeds him as Chairman of the corporate board of directors, on April 7, 1992. This year, Wal-Mart had a presence in 45 states with the addition of Idaho, Montana, and Oregon, as well as Puerto Rico.

In 1993, the Wal-Mart International Division is formed with Bobby Martin as its president. The company also enters the U.S. markets of Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Washington. Their stores also achieve the billion-dollar sales mark in one week in December 1993.

Wal-Mart acquired 91 PACE Membership Warehouse clubs from Kmart and 122 Woolco stores in Canada in 1994.

In 1994, Wal-Mart opened 3 value clubs in Hong Kong, while Canada now has 123 stores and Mexico, 96.

Also in 1994, the Code Adam program was implemented for lost children. The program was named after Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old son of John Walsh, who was abducted from a Florida department store and later found murdered in 1981. Other major retailers have since implemented similar programs.

By 1995, Wal-Mart had 1,995 discount stores, 239 Supercenters, 433 SAM'S CLUBS and 276 international stores with sales at $93.6 billion (including US sales of $78 billion) and 675,000 associates. Wal-Mart entered its 50th state (Vermont), and enters the South American market, with three new units in Argentina and five in Brazil. The company enters the Chinese market in 1996 through a joint-venture agreement.

In 1997, Wal-Mart replaced Woolworth on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company has its first $100 billion sales year, with sales totaling $118.1 billion. Also this year, they acquire 21 Wertkauf stores in Germany, and introduce their OneSource nutrition centers.

In 1998, Wal-Mart introduces the Neighborhood Market concept at three stores in Arkansas. Neighborhood Market stores are predominantly grocery stores, and are meant to attract customers with easier parking, less crowded aisles and quicker checkout.

Also in 1998, Wal-Mart launched its "Wal-Mart Television Network", a vast, in-store advertising network showing commercials for products sold in the stores, concert clips and music videos for a recording artist's media, trailers for upcoming movie releases, and news.

The 21st century

In 2000, H. Lee Scott was named president and CEO and US sales had doubled to $156 billion since 1995. Also in 2000, Wal-Mart was ranked fifth by Fortune magazine on its Global Most Admired All-Stars list, and in 2003 and 2004, as the most admired company in America.

In 2005, Wal-Mart had $312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200 facilities around the world, including 3,800 stores in the with $18 million in cash donations.

In 2006, on 26th of July Wal-Mart announced its complete pull-out of the German market. All existing 85 stores were sold to the Metro Group which in turn turns most of the stores of their own brand .

On September 12, 2007, after 19 years, Wal-Mart introduced new advertising with the slogan, "Save Money Live Better"," instead of "Always Low Prices, Always". It commissioned Global Insight for the ads and the report stated that as of 2006, the retailer saves American families $2,500 yearly (up 7.3% from $2,329 , 2004). The new research found that the reduction in price levels due to Wal-Mart resulted to savings for consumers of $287 billion in 2006, which is $957 per person or $2,500 per household.

On June 30, 2008, Wal-Mart unveiled the company's new logo, which will not have the star in the middle. The new company logo will have "Walmart" in one word.

New ventures

In late 2005, Wal-Mart designed two experimental stores, one in McKinney, Texas (which was known for making Cheese, and other famous dairy Prouducts) and the other in Aurora, Colorado, which feature wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, biofuel-capable boilers, water-cooled refrigerators, and xeriscape gardens. [Berner, Robert. " [http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2005/nf20050922_6448_db016.htm Can Wal-Mart Wear a White Hat?] " "BusinessWeek." September 22, 2005. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.] The buildings also include many other energy and cost and energy-saving technologies.

In March 2006, Wal-Mart sought to attempt to appeal to a more affluent demographic, with the opening of a new supercenter in Plano, Texas, and is intended to compete against stores that some view as more upscale and appealing, such as Target. [Koenig, David. " [http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1753784&page=1 Wal-Mart Targeting Upscale Shoppers] ." "ABC News." March 22, 2006. Retrieved on July 25, 2006.] The new store features wooden floors, wider aisles, a sushi bar, a coffee/sandwich shop (with free Wi-Fi Internet access), a Subway, and higher-end items such as microbrew beer, expensive wines, and high-end electronics. The exterior sports the less-common hunter green background behind the Wal-Mart letters instead of the trademark blue.

In response to the popularity of organic food supermarkets, such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats, Wal-Mart announced plans in May 2006, to increase the amount of organic food available in its stores.Warner, Melanie. " [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/business/12organic.html?ex=1305086400en=b8ee8ab04d4a6d72ei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Foods] ." "New York Times." May 12, 2006. Retrieved on July 25, 2006.] They announced that both conventionally grown and organic versions of certain products would be available, and the price of organic versions would not be more than 10% over the price of conventionally-grown products. Since Wal-Mart is one of the nation's largest grocery retailers, there was some concern expressed that their push to lower prices would not be sustainable for inexpensive organic food. [Pollan, Michael. " [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/magazine/04wwln_lede.html?ex=1307073600&en=07310c42ac1a390c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Mass Natural] ." "New York Times." June 4, 2006. Retrieved on July 25, 2006.]

Legal Trouble

Over the last decade or so Wal-Mart has become involved in thousands of lawsuits for a variety of reasons. The majority of which are class action lawsuits in which employees are suing for unpaid wages [http://www.lawsuitsearch.com/companies/walmart.aspx] . They have also run into many discrimination cases in which employees are suing for being profiled out of money or out of jobs. For instance, there were two separate cases, one in 2004 and one in 2005 in which African Americans were suing two different Wal-Marts for denying them jobs based on race [The New York Times 7/14/05] . These becamse so popular that the reverend Jesse Jackson spoke during both of the proceedings. There are also many lawsuits in which women are suing Wal-Mart for discriminating against them. In one article written in 2004 USA today mentioned 32 different lawsuits that involved women suing Wal-Mart [http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2004-06-24-walmart-usat_x.htm] . All of this has not affected Wal-Mart financially however, according to Fortune 500, Wal-Mart still had $351 billion in revenue ($11 billion in profit) in 2007, a new high for the corporation [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/snapshots/1551.html] .

atire and parodies

As Wal-Mart has grown to become a major part of modern culture and society, it has also become somewhat of a target by several in the entertainment industry. For example, on November 3, 2004, the store was featured as "Wall-Mart" on Comedy Central's "South Park" episode, "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes", and runs all local stores in South Park out of business.

On October 13, 2005, "Big Box Mart," a cartoon produced by JibJab, debuted on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The cartoon featured the story of a middle-aged man who shops regularly at Wal-Mart, and in the end finds that he ends up working for the company when his former employer outsources his job to "the slums of east Beijing" in order to compete with Wal-Mart's rock-bottom prices. [" [http://www.jibjab.com/JokeBox/JokeBox_JJOrig.aspx?movieid=122 Big Box Mart] " (video). "JibJab." October 13, 2005. Retrieved on July 25, 2006.] Fox's "The Simpsons" also features, "Wal-Mart"-like companies, such as, "Sprawl-Mart", "Try N Save", "Monstromart", and "Left*Mart". "Wall-to-Wall Mart" is a major store featured in Nickelodeon's Fairly Odd Parents, and "Mega Lo Mart" is a large discount retailer featured on Fox's "King of the Hill". The store was also parodied on "Family Guy" as Superstore USA.

Previous operations

In the past, Wal-Mart operated Dot Discount Drugs, [Frederick, James. " [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n4_v12/ai_8804081 Dot's new owners set an aggressive agenda - Dot Discount Drugs] ." "Drug Store News." February 19, 1990. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.] Bud's Discount City, [Staff Writer. " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E4DE113BF930A15754C0A961958260 Wal-Mart Plans to Close 48 Bud's Discount City Stores] ." "New York Times." July 23, 1997. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.] Hypermart USA, OneSource Nutrition Centers, [Staff Writer. " [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n17_v19/ai_19938225 Wal-Mart eyeing healthy sales with nutritional 'store' concept - Wal-Mart Stores] ." "Drug Store News." October 20, 1997. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.] and Save-Co Home Improvement stores.

ee also

* Wal-Mart
* Criticism of Wal-Mart
* List of Wal-Mart brands
* List of assets owned by Wal-Mart

References