Walmart

===1945–1969: Early history===
[[File:Sam-Walton.jpg|thumb|right|Founder [[Sam Walton]]]]
[[File: Walton's Five and Dime store, Bentonville, Arkansas.jpg|thumb|Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime Store in [[Bentonville, Arkansas]], now serving as The Walmart Museum|alt=Picture of Sam Walton's original Five and Dime store in Bentonville, Arkansas, now serving as The Walmart Museum.]]

In 1945, businessman and former [[J. C. Penney]] employee [[Sam Walton]] bought a branch of the [[Ben Franklin (company)|Ben Franklin]] stores from the [[Butler Brothers]].<ref name="madeinamerica">{{cite book |author = Walton, Sam |author2 = Huey, John |title = Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story |place = New York |publisher = Bantam |year = 1993 |isbn = 978-0-553-56283-5 }}</ref> His primary focus was selling products at low prices to get higher-volume sales at a lower profit margin, portraying it as a crusade for the consumer. He experienced setbacks because the lease price and branch purchase were unusually high, but he was able to find lower-cost suppliers than those used by other stores and was consequently able to undercut his competitors on pricing.<ref name="a">{{cite web |url = http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2375.html |title = Sam Walton: Great From the Start – HBS Working Knowledge |first = Richard S. |last = Tedlow |date = July 23, 2001 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606044751/http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2375.html |archive-date = June 6, 2011}}</ref> Sales increased 45 percent in his first year of ownership to {{US$|105,000}} in revenue, which increased to $140,000 the next year and $175,000 the year after that. Within the fifth year, the store was generating $250,000 in revenue. The lease then expired for the location and Walton was unable to reach an agreement for renewal, so he opened up a new store at 105 N. Main Street in Bentonville, naming it "Walton's Five and Dime".<ref name="a"/><ref name="BriefHistory">{{cite news |author = Frank, T.A. |url = http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13796 |title = A Brief History of Wal-Mart |work = Washington Monthly |date = April 1, 2006 |access-date = July 24, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060721005501/http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13796 |archive-date = July 21, 2006}}</ref> That store is now the Walmart Museum.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/history/the-walmart-museum |title = The Walmart Museum |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150204210648/http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/history/the-walmart-museum |archive-date = February 4, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Walmart Logo 1962.svg|thumbnail|right|Wal-Mart logo from 1962 to 1964]]

On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store at 719 W. Walnut Street in [[Rogers, Arkansas]]. Its design was inspired by [[Ann & Hope]], which Walton visited in 1961, as did [[Kmart (United States)|Kmart]] founder [[Harry B. Cunningham]].<ref>{{cite book|title=How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth|url=https://archive.org/details/howtobebillionai00mart|url-access=registration|last=Fridson|first=Martin S.|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=1999|isbn=0-471-33202-X}}<!--|access-date=November 11, 2007 --> p. 84.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.valleybreeze.com/2020-06-29/cumberland-lincoln-area/ann-hope-closing-all-outlet-stores |title='Ann & Hope closing all outlet stores': The Valley Breeze, July 29, 2020 |date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015092300/https://www.valleybreeze.com/2020-06-29/cumberland-lincoln-area/ann-hope-closing-all-outlet-stores |url-status=live }}</ref> The name was derived from [[FedMart]], a chain of discount department stores founded by [[Sol Price]] in 1954, whom Walton was also inspired by. Walton stated that he liked the idea of calling his discount chain "Wal-Mart" because he "really liked Sol's FedMart name". The building is now occupied by a hardware store and an antiques mall, while the company's "Store #1" has since expanded to a Supercenter several blocks west at 2110 W. Walnut Street. Within its first five years, the company expanded to 18 stores in [[Arkansas]] and reached $9&nbsp;million in sales.<ref name="discountcity">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/transform/cron.html |title = The Rise of Walmart |work = Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America? |date = November 16, 2004 |access-date = September 19, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930063957/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/transform/cron.html |archive-date = September 30, 2007}}</ref> In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas in [[Sikeston, Missouri]] and [[Claremore, Oklahoma]].<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url = http://www.walmartfacts.com/content/default.aspx?id=3 |title = The Wal-Mart Timeline |publisher = Wal-Mart |access-date = July 24, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060719071543/http://www.walmartfacts.com/content/default.aspx?id=3 |archive-date = July 19, 2006 }}</ref>