A Walmart store in Virginia.
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The first Walmart store opened in 1962 and it was the No. 1 retailer in the US by 1990.Photos show customers shopping at Walmart during the chain’s boom in the ’90s.Walmart also expanded into China, Canada, and the UK in the 1990s.
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 1980, the retail chain operated 276 locations and achieved $1 billion in sales each year. By 1990, Walmart became the No. 1 retailer in the US.
The big-box brand has continued to dominate, marking its 60th anniversary in 2022 and earning $648 billion in revenue in the fiscal year 2024, according to its latest earnings report.
Photos from Walmart’s booming business in the 1990s show the retail chain’s rapid growth.
A representative for Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.
Walmart used to have a dash in its name and logo.
A Walmart store in Naperville, Illinois.
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Walmart previously used a Western-inspired logo font called “Font Frontier Logo,” then switched to bold block letters in 1981.
In 1992, Walmart replaced the dash with a star.
A Walmart store in Virginia.
James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images
Walmart eventually got rid of the hyphen altogether in 2008.
In the 1990s, Walmart customers were welcomed to stores by “people greeters.”
A Walmart employee in the 1990s.
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In 2019, Walmart eliminated “people greeter” positions in about 1,000 stores and replaced them with “customer hosts,” an expanded role that included checking receipts and processing refunds.
The store’s “Always” marketing slogan was relatively new, having been introduced in 1989.
Walmart stores offer savings.
Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images
Since the 1970s, Walmart has followed its “every day low prices” strategy, or EDLP, which offers lower prices on products year-round rather than only during special sales or promos.
In 2008, the “Always” slogan was updated to its current iteration, “Save money. Live better.”
In 1991, a roll of Sparkle paper towels cost 67 cents at Walmart.
Customers at Walmart in the 1990s.
Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images
In 2025, a two-pack of Sparkle paper towels costs $2.97 at Walmart, or about $1.49 per roll.
Kathie Lee Gifford, then the cohost of “Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee,” launched a Walmart clothing line in 1995.
Kathie Lee Gifford’s clothing line at Walmart.
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Walmart’s growth was not without controversy.
Gifford and Walmart came under scrutiny when National Labor Committee director Charles Kernaghan testified in a 1996 congressional hearing that Gifford’s clothing line was produced by child laborers in sweatshops in Honduras.
“I immediately called Walmart and said this is obscene if this is happening,” Gifford said on an episode of “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee.” “They said, ‘That happened months ago, we found out about it and took care of it.'”
Gifford later testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights to advocate for better oversight of working conditions to prevent child labor.
“I believe this committee has the means to formulate real and substantive change as to how garments are made for the American consumer,” she told lawmakers.
The incident sparked increased awareness of and advocacy for corporate responsibility policies. In subsequent years, Walmart also adopted new standards focused on ethical manufacturing and sustainability abroad.
The chain became a premier Black Friday and holiday shopping destination.
Black Friday at Walmart.
Daniel Hulshizer/AP
On Black Friday in 1998, customers lined up outside Walmart stores at 3 a.m. to secure popular ’90s toys such as Furbies.
As Walmart grew into the largest and most profitable retailer in the world, its shareholders meetings became star-studded events.
Helen Walton, the widow of Walmart founder Sam Walton, at the 1992 Walmart shareholders meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Danny Johnston/AP
Celebrity guests at Walmart’s shareholders meetings included Reba McEntire, Chet Atkins, Lee Greenwood, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, when they were the governor and first lady of Arkansas. The company also invited employees from across the US.
The 1992 shareholders meeting featured a crowd of 15,000 audience members, AP reported.
Walmart expanded into Canada, China, and the UK in the ’90s, cementing the brand as a global mainstay.
A Walmart in Beijing.
Cancan Chu/Getty Images
Walmart acquired 122 Woolco stores in Canada in 1994, opened its first locations in China in 1996, and acquired Asda in the UK in 1998.
As of 2025, Walmart operates 10,600 stores in 19 countries with 2.1 million employees worldwide, according to its official website.
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