Wal Mart: A colorful history

ORIGINATED

Sam Walton is the founder and first president of Wal-Mart Inc. In 1945, Sam Walton opened his first variety store called Ben Franklin in Newport, Arkansas. Ben Franklin was a small chain franchise which gradually died as supermarkets and discounters developed. Sam Walton discovered a tremendous market potential in the early 1960’s – discount retailing in rural areas. He had approached this idea with the Ben Franklin franchisers but this idea was met with rejection. Discount retailing had entered the US in the mid-1950s and grew at an annual compound rate of 25% between 1960 and 1970.
After his idea was turned down, Sam Walton began opening his own discount stores in small, rural towns like Bentonville and Rogers, Arkansas. In 1962, in the small rural town of Roger’s, Arkansas a life long dream was fulfilled for a young flinty workaholic named Sam Walton. On July 2, 1962 the first Wal-Mart discount store opened. By placing his discount stores in rural...