July 2, 1962 - The First Walmart Opens

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Ben Franklin could’ve had it made. I’m not referring to the “foundingfather”, of course – the one Americans will honor tomorrow, he of the long hairand granny glasses, kites, keys and lightning bolts, Almanacks and The SaturdayEvening Post. I mean the famous variety store chain that borrowed its name fromol’ Ben, the “Ben Franklin 5 and 10 cent stores” that dotted communitiesnationwide for a big chunk of the 20th century.   Samuel Moore Walton of Bentonville, Arkansas was far and awayone of Ben Franklin’s most successful franchisees. Starting with a lone storein Newport, Arkansas in 1945, by 1962 he had 16 profitable stores in Arkansas,Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition to being an unusually savvy retailer, Sam Waltonwas a researcher - a true “retail scientist.” An idea sponge. His laboratories,in this case, were the pioneering discount stores of the Northeast – Korvette, Annand Hope, Mammoth Mart and others who by the late fifties were sowing the seedsof a full-scale retail revolution that would bloom within a few short years.  Walton saw the enthusiastic response to theseexciting stores and saw no reason why their concept couldn’t be duplicated inthe rural towns of the South, areas that were primarily served by small chainstores and mom-and-pop shops. In many places, even those were few and farbetween.Having formulated his ideas and drawn up his plans, Sam didthe loyal thing – he flew up to Chicago to meet with the execs of hisfranchisor, Butler Brothers, the parent company of Ben Franklin. There, he mappedout his discount store concept in great detail, covering all of the key aspects– the larger stores, the plethora of departments, the everyday low prices, the streamlineddistribution model whereby Butler would do most of it themselves, eliminating thecostly middlemen wholesalers. Then he offered it them, lock, stock and barrel,if only Butler would be willing to carry the plans out. They told him to stuff it,so to speak.  Rejected, he returned home to Bentonville, and on July 2,1962, fifty years ago yesterday, he opened the store pictured above – the firstWalmart store, in nearby Rogers, Arkansas. (The photo itself is circa 1970. The“Discount City” sign was added shortly after opening, a tagline they used forover three decades.) Not long after the first store opened, the Butler brasstraveled to Rogers and saw firsthand the favorable customer reactions. They pulledWalton aside and told him “Don’t open any more of these Walmarts”, lest hejeopardize his relationship with their company. His exact response isn’t recorded,but through his actions Walton essentially told them to stuff it. So to speak.Within four years, there were five Walmarts, and by 1980 therewere nearly 300. Today, the company has over 9,000 stores internationally andthey are the undisputed King of Retail. Best I can tell, no one is even vyingfor the crown.   Here is the grand opening ad for that landmark store,boasting 22 departments! (And some way-cool specs!) For those interested in learning more about the Walmart story,let me commend to you the fine book pictured below. “Mr. Sam: How Sam Walton Built Wal-Mart and Became America’s Richest Man”, written by former Wall StreetJournal reporter and editor Karen Blumenthal  and published last fall. I was able to help Karensource some photos for the book, and she very kindly sent me a copy. Writtenfor the “young readers” market, it’s an intelligent, entertaining,well-illustrated biography that will definitely appeal to adults with an interestin retail history and/or modern-day commercial culture.  Walmart books (with the exception of Walton’s autobiography “Madein America”, an essential read) tend to fall into one of two categories – the “fawningover Walmart” group or the “Walmart as scourge of humankind” group.  Blumenthal takes a very balanced approach, and“young readers” notwithstanding, gives a great amount of historical detail andinsight into the events and personalities that shaped the company. Importantly,the book doesn’t shy away from the controversies of recent years. It’s a verysatisfying look at an important historical figure.