Did Wal-Mart Wake Up? - The Arthur Page Society

1. Company History
An in-depth glimpse into Wal-Mart’s history is vital in order to understand its
rapid growth and relationship with its employees and customers, and how its history has
developed the company’s image and reputation.
1.1 Wal-Mart’s Early History: 1960s to 1970s
The first Wal-Mart was opened in 1962 by founder Sam Walton in Rogers,
Arkansas with the help of brother J.L. (Bud) Walton. A mere five years later, the
company had increased to 24 stores within Arkansas and had reached up to $12.6 million
in sales. 7 By 1968 Walton opened his first stores outside of Arkansas, in Sikeston,
Missouri, and Claremore, Oklahoma, and a year later in 1969 incorporated all of these
ventures as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on October 31 st . 8
The next decade showed a great increase in growth and popularity for the
company. The first year in the 1970s saw Wal-Mart’s first distribution center and Home
Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and by this point had 1,500 employees with a revenue
stream of $44.2 million. Wal-Mart also began to share stocks over the counter as a
publicly-held company and soon found its first 100 percent split in May 1971 at a market
price of $47. 9 Its second 100 percent split occurred in 1972, after being approved and
listed on The New York Stock Exchange, at a market price of $47.50. By 1974 Wal-Mart
had expanded into eight states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma,
Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi.
By the middle of the decade, Wal-Mart had over 7,500 employees (or associates,
as they were called) in 125 stores across now nine states, with the addition of Texas. At
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