Past, present and potential

History

Walmart started with one man. In 1962, Sam Walton began with just one store and one mission: help people save money so they could live better. As a growing global digital enterprise and with over 11,500 stores, we maintain Mr. Sam’s vision, but now, we are able to help more customers than ever.

It began with a spark

Over the past 50 years, we’ve gone from one store in Rogers, AR to a global digital enterprise. Along the way, we’ve accomplished so much.

Retail revolution

The 1960s

On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, AR. By 1969, the company was officially incorporated and registering $12.7 billion in sales.

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We go national

1970s

The 1970s was a decade of incredible growth. In this time, we became a publicly traded company, opened our first Distribution Center and landed on the New York Stock Exchange. And what's more? In 1975, the Walmart Cheer was born.

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Decade of firsts

1980s

Walmart reached $1 billion in annual sales, opened the first Sam's Club and Walmart Supercenter. By the late 80s, Walmart had 276 stores and employed over 21,000 associates. Oh, and Sam Walton did the hula on Wall Street.

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A global company

1990s

By 1990, Walmart was the nation's number-one retailer. As the Walmart Supercenter redefined convenience and one-stop shopping, Every Day Low Prices went global. In 1997, we celebrated a year that brought in $100 billion in sales.

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New millennium

2000s

As CEO, Doug McMillon embodies the innovative spirit modeled by our founder Sam Walton. Since acquiring Jet.com in 2016, we've welcomed a number of brands to the Walmart family including Shoebuy, Hayneedle, Moosejaw, Modcloth, and more. Our tech innovations are fueled by the research team @WalmartLabs and tech incubator Store 8.

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By The Numbers

 

# of Walmart stores globally

  • 260

    million weekly shoppers

  • 28

    # of countries we operate in

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