Walmart turns 62: How Walmart grew into the retail giant we know today

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — July 2 is the anniversary of the opening of the first Walmart in Rogers in 1962.

More than six decades later, it is one of the largest retailers in the world with 10,500 stores and clubs in 19 countries, according to its corporate website.

Humble beginnings

Walmart's first store opened 62 years ago, but its origins date back even further.

According to the Walmart Digital Museum, Sam Walton and his family moved to Bentonville in 1950 from eastern Arkansas.

Walton bought Luther Harrison's Variety Store on the town square. It was his second store, but the first to bear the Walton name. It was a Ben Franklin five-and-dime franchise next door to a space occupied by a barbershop that Walton bought in 1951. Walton followed that expansion up by moving into the space next door and a remodeling sale for Walton's 5&10.

Walton's 5&10 can still be seen today as part of the Walmart Museum on the Bentonville Square.