History Of Walmart

Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation known for operating a large chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other countries. The company is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. It was founded by brothers Sam and James “Bud” Walton in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, and was officially incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law on October 31, 1969. Walmart also owns and operates Sam’s Club retail warehouses.

As of October 31, 2022, Walmart had 10,586 stores and clubs across 24 countries, operating under 46 different names. In the United States and Canada, the company operates under the name Walmart. In Mexico and Central America, it is known as Walmart de México y Centroamérica, and in India, it operates as Flipkart Wholesale. Walmart has full ownership of its operations in Chile and holds a majority stake in Massmart in South Africa. Since August 2018, Walmart held only a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, which was renamed Grupo Big in August 2019. Walmart owned 20% of Grupo Big, while the private equity firm Advent International held 80%. They eventually sold their shares in Grupo Big to the French retailer Carrefour in a deal worth R$7 billion, completed on June 7, 2022.

Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in October 2022. In February 2023, Walmart announced that its total revenue for the fiscal year 2023 was $611.3 billion. Walmart is also the largest private employer globally, with 2.1 million employees. The company is publicly traded but remains family-owned, with the Walton family controlling over 50% of Walmart through their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings. In 2019, Walmart was the largest grocery retailer in the United States, with 65% of its $510.329 billion in sales coming from U.S. operations.

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Walmart was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. By 1988, it became the most profitable retailer in the U.S., and by October 1989, it was the largest in terms of revenue. Initially, Walmart was limited to the South and lower Midwest regions, but by the early 1990s, it had expanded nationwide. Sam’s Club opened in New Jersey in November 1989, and the first Walmart store in California opened in Lancaster in July 1990. In October 1990, Walmart opened its first store in the Northeast in York, Pennsylvania.

Walmart’s international investments have had mixed results. While the company has been successful in Canada, the United Kingdom (ASDA), Central America, South America, and China, its ventures in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Argentina were less successful.

Company Name	Walmart
Founders	Sam Walton, Bud Walton
CEO (Current 2024)	Doug McMillon
Founded Year	1962
Headquarters	Bentonville, Arkansas, United States
Services	Retail
Official Website	walmart.com

History Of Walmart

1945–1969: Early History

In 1945, Sam Walton, a businessman and former employee of J.C. Penney, purchased a branch of the Ben Franklin stores from the Butler Brothers. His main strategy was to sell products at low prices to increase sales volume, even if it meant earning a lower profit margin. He saw this as a way to help customers save money. Despite some challenges, such as high lease costs, Walton managed to find cheaper suppliers than his competitors, allowing him to offer lower prices. In his first year of ownership, sales grew by 45%, reaching $105,000 in revenue. The following year, sales increased to $140,000, and then to $175,000 the year after that. By the fifth year, the store was generating $250,000 in revenue. When the lease for the store expired and Walton couldn’t renew it, he opened a new store at 105 N. Main Street in Bentonville, calling it “Walton’s Five and Dime.” Today, that store is the Walmart Museum.

On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store at 719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas. The design of this store was inspired by Ann & Hope, a store Walton had visited in 1961, as well as by FedMart, a discount store chain founded by Sol Price in 1954. Walton liked the name “Wal-Mart” because it reminded him of “FedMart.” The original building now houses a hardware store and an antiques mall, while the company’s “Store #1” has since expanded into a Supercenter a few blocks away. In its first five years, Wal-Mart grew to 18 stores in Arkansas, with sales reaching $9 million. In 1968, Wal-Mart opened its first stores outside of Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri, and Claremore, Oklahoma.

1969–1990: Incorporation and Regional Growth

Wal-Mart was incorporated as Wal-Mart, Inc. under Delaware General Corporation Law on October 31, 1969, and the company changed its name to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1970. That same year, the company opened its first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. By this time, Wal-Mart had 38 stores, 1,500 employees, and $44.2 million in sales. On October 1, 1970, Wal-Mart became a publicly traded company and was soon listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The first stock split occurred in May 1971 at $47 per share. By then, Wal-Mart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The company expanded into Tennessee in 1973 and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. By 1975, with its move into Texas, Wal-Mart had 125 stores, 7,500 employees, and $340.3 million in sales.

In the 1980s, Wal-Mart experimented with a precursor to the Supercenter called Hyper-Mart, which combined discount stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, video arcades, and other services under one roof. Wal-Mart continued to grow rapidly, and by its 25th anniversary in 1987, the company had 1,198 stores, $15.9 billion in sales, and 200,000 employees. One key to Wal-Mart’s success during this period was its strategic expansion, where new distribution centers were built in a hub-and-spoke model, close to existing stores.

In 1987, Wal-Mart completed its satellite network, a $24 million investment that connected all stores with two-way voice and data transmissions, as well as one-way video communications with the Bentonville office. This made Wal-Mart the owner of the largest private satellite network at the time, allowing the company to track inventory and sales and communicate instantly with its stores.

By 1984, Sam Walton had started sourcing a significant portion of Wal-Mart’s products from China. In 1988, Walton stepped down as CEO and was succeeded by David Glass, though Walton continued as chairman of the board. That same year, the first Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Washington, Missouri.

Thanks to its Supercenters, Wal-Mart surpassed Toys “R” Us in toy sales by 1998.

1999 to 2006

After a disaster, Walmart provided truckloads of merchandise, food for 100,000 meals, and promised a job to every displaced worker. An independent study by Steven Horwitz of St. Lawrence University found that Walmart, along with The Home Depot and Lowe’s, effectively used their local knowledge of supply chains, infrastructure, and resources to deliver emergency supplies and reopen stores much faster than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While Walmart was praised for its quick response, some critics pointed out ongoing issues with the company’s labor relations.

In 2006, Charles Fishman published The Wal-Mart Effect, a book that looked into how Walmart operates its supply chain. The book, which drew significant attention, highlighted Walmart’s efforts to lower costs and improve efficiency, suggesting that these practices might have widespread impacts. Since the book’s publication, Walmart has more than doubled in size. However, further research on Walmart’s role in the food supply chain has been limited and mostly anecdotal.

2005–2010: Initiatives

In November 2005, Walmart announced several environmental initiatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency and improving its overall environmental performance, an area where it had previously been criticized. The company set ambitious goals, including spending $500 million annually to improve fuel efficiency in its truck fleet by 25% within three years and doubling it within ten years, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% over seven years, cutting energy use in stores by 30%, and reducing solid waste from U.S. stores and Sam’s Clubs by 25% within three years. Walmart’s CEO, Lee Scott, stated that the company’s long-term goal was to become a “good steward of the environment” by using only renewable energy sources and producing zero waste.

Walmart also designed three experimental stores featuring wind turbines, solar panels, biofuel-capable boilers, water-cooled refrigerators, and xeriscape gardens. During this period, Walmart became the largest seller of organic milk and the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world. The company also focused on reducing packaging and energy costs. In 2007, Walmart worked with outside consultants to assess its overall environmental impact and identify areas for improvement. Walmart even created its own electric company in Texas, called Texas Retail Energy, to supply its stores with cheaper power bought at wholesale prices. This initiative was expected to save the company $15 million annually and potentially pave the way for selling electricity directly to Texas consumers in the future.

2011–2021

Walmart’s truck fleet travels millions of miles each year, and the company aimed to double the fleet’s efficiency between 2005 and 2015. At its Buckeye, Arizona distribution center, 15 trucks were converted to run on biofuel made from reclaimed cooking grease produced during food preparation at Walmart stores.

On November 14, 2012, Walmart launched its first mail subscription service called Goodies. For $7 a month, customers received five to eight food samples delivered to their homes. However, the service was discontinued in late 2013.

In August 2013, Walmart announced that it was in talks to acquire a majority stake in Naivas, a Kenya-based supermarket chain.

In June 2014, some Walmart employees went on strike in major U.S. cities, demanding higher wages. A month later, in July 2014, actor and comedian Tracy Morgan filed a lawsuit against Walmart, seeking damages after a multi-car accident allegedly caused by one of Walmart’s truck drivers who had not slept for 24 hours. Morgan’s limousine was hit by the truck, injuring him and two others, and killing fellow comedian James McNair. Walmart settled with McNair’s family for $10 million without admitting liability, and later reached a settlement with Morgan in 2015 for an undisclosed amount. Walmart then accused its insurers of acting in “bad faith” for refusing to cover the settlement costs.

In 2015, Walmart became the largest commercial producer of solar power in the U.S., with a capacity of 142 MW. Most of this solar power was generated from rooftop installations, along with 20,000 square meters of solar canopies over parking lots.

Walmart also began offering financial support for employees’ adoption expenses. CEO Doug McMillon stated that the company was exploring ways to use the opportunities created by tax reform to invest in its customers, employees, and business, ultimately benefiting shareholders.

Walmart also considered entering the subscription video streaming market to compete with Netflix and Amazon, enlisting former Epix CEO Mark Greenberg to help develop a low-cost service.

On February 26, 2019, Walmart acquired Aspectiva, a product review start-up based in Tel Aviv, for an undisclosed sum.

In May 2019, Walmart introduced free one-day shipping on over 220,000 items for orders of $35 or more.

In September 2019, Walmart announced that it would stop selling e-cigarettes due to the “regulatory complexity and uncertainty” surrounding these products. Earlier that year, Walmart had stopped selling fruit-flavored e-cigarettes and raised the minimum age to 21 for purchasing tobacco products. That same month, Walmart opened its first Health Center, a “medical mall” offering primary care services, with prices as low as $30 for an annual physical and $45 for a counseling session. Walmart also expanded its healthcare services by opening a 2,600-square-foot health and wellness clinic prototype in Springdale, Arkansas.

By October 2019, Walmart stopped selling all live fish and aquatic plants.

2022–2024: Recent Developments

In June 2022, Walmart announced it would be acquiring Memomi, a company specializing in augmented reality (AR) optical technology. Then, in August 2022, Walmart revealed plans to acquire Volt Systems, a software company that manages vendor relationships and tracks products. That same month, Walmart partnered with Paramount to offer Paramount+ content to its Walmart+ subscribers, aiming to better compete with Amazon. Also in August 2022, Walmart announced that its stores would not return to 24-hour operations; most stores would now be open from 6 am to 11 pm.

In January 2023, Walmart announced it would raise the minimum wage for its U.S. hourly workers from $12 to $14 an hour, benefiting about 340,000 employees starting in early March 2023. With this increase, the average wage for Walmart workers in the U.S. was expected to exceed $17.50 an hour. The company also announced that it would add more college degrees and certificates to its Live Better U program.

In February 2023, Walmart reported $611.3 billion in sales for the previous financial year, a 6.7% increase, with $164 billion in sales in the fourth quarter alone. The company’s profits nearly doubled compared to the previous year.

In April 2023, Walmart announced plans to add electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at thousands of stores by 2030. This would be in addition to the nearly 1,300 charging stations already in place at 280 locations. CNBC noted that Walmart has more than 4,700 stores and 600 Sam’s Club locations, which are within 10 miles of roughly 90% of the U.S. population.

In January 2024, Walmart announced it would open more than 150 new stores in the U.S. over the next five years and remodel 650 existing stores across 47 states and Puerto Rico. This marked a shift for the company, which had previously focused less on new store openings to concentrate on competing with online retailers like Amazon. The announcement came as the retail industry refocused on traditional stores in the post-pandemic era.

In February 2024, Walmart announced that its “Project Gigaton” initiative, which began in 2017 to reduce its suppliers’ Scope 3 emissions by 1 billion metric tons by 2030, had already achieved this goal six years early. Additionally, 75% of Walmart’s net sales in fiscal year 2023 came from suppliers participating in this initiative.

In 2024, Walmart reported that it was planning to remove self-checkout lanes from some stores due to customer feedback.