Wal-Mart
Amanda Reeves
SS340-01American Business History
Kaplan University

Wal-Mart On July 2, 1962 when the first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers Arkansas, no one would have guessed that in less than fifty years, one store would explode into nine-hundred and seventy one locations across the United States. The Wal-Mart Store has revolutionized the way that Americans shop for groceries, household supplies, clothes, and even home repair items. Sam Walton’s vision for a place that people could come to purchase a variety of items in one location for a reasonable price, began in 1940 when he started working in retail for J.C. Penny. During his career at Penny’s, Walton was approached by Butler Brothers Retailers, who offered him the opportunity to run one of their variety stores in Newport Arkansas called “Ben Franklin”. Walton jumped at the chance and was actually very successful at the venture. After the initial lease expired for “Ben Franklin”, Walton chose to relocate and rename the store. He moved to a building in Bentonville Arkansas, and renamed the store “Walton’s Five and Dime”. It was here that Walton learned a valuable lesson in sales. By slightly reducing his markup on products, he was able to out sell his competitors with significant profit and sales margins. Walton took this valuable knowledge and began to study and research different discount retailers across the country, learning everything he could about discount retailing. Finally, in 1962, Walton felt that he was ready to open what would come to be the first of many, discount retail stores, called “Wal-Mart Discount City”. Walton and his wife felt so strongly about this business idea that they contributed ninety-five percent of the initial capital needed to get the store up and running. The sales were incredible and within the next five years Walton was able