Walmart is a renowned transcontinental retail business that originates in the United States. It appeared in 1962, thanks to Sam Walton. Today, the corporation maintains a broad network of supermarkets, convenience stores, and grocery stores that provide a broad spectrum of products with competitive pricing.
Meaning and History
In 1945, Sam Walton, a determined businessman, and former JC Penney worker, purchased a Ben Franklin shop and established his cost-effective retail venture. Despite initial setbacks and substantial financial investments in rental and branch locations, Walton persevered, focusing on a high turnover rate to offset low prices. Despite challenges with suppliers and slim profit margins, his new business made $105,000 in the first 12 months and went on to experience growth. When the lease expired, Walton relocated and established the iconic Walton’s Five and Dime outlet in Bentonville, which now operates as a museum showcasing the company’s remarkable journey.
In 1962, Walton set up his inaugural store in Rogers, calling it Walmart Discount City and drawing inspiration from Ann & Hope for the brand identity. With a new place, the business embarked on a path of advancement and expansion, achieving a remarkable profit of $9 million in a five-year period. The company established its first headquarters outside of Arkansas in 1968 and legally registered as Wal-Mart, Inc. in 1969. Over time, the store underwent several name changes and introduced multiple updated logos, with approximately ten variations in total.
What is Walmart?
Walmart is a global business, controlling~11,000 convenience stores throughout 26 countries. They additionally run a digital commerce website for each local outlet. Registered in 1962 in Arkansas by Sam Walton, Walmart has become a large corporation that grabs customers’ attention with competitive prices, broad selection of goods, and fast delivery.
1950 – 1962
The initial store, Walton’s Five and Dime, had a sign with the word “Walton’s” displayed in simple angular characters in a typeface without serifs. The letterforms were slim and spaced widely on the signboard, creating a distinctive and straightforward appearance.
1962 – 1964
When Sam Walton had to establish a new location called Walmart after the lease of the previous premises expired, the name caption featured the word in varying styles and scripts. However, the most popular variant was a blue-letter wordmark in a serif-free format. It showcased simple and elongated letterforms with a white backdrop, creating a clean and modern aesthetic.
1964 – 1967
Their image of the mid-60s, known as the “medallion,” had a circled form with an extended rectangle. It was more of an informative signboard rather than a traditional trademark. It contained a lot of text, with the parts “Wal-Mart” (in caps) and “Discount City” (in lowercase) located in the middle on a horizontally oriented rectangle.
Additionally, two phrases were in the logo, “Everything for less” and “Satisfaction guaranteed,” positioned oppositely. The circle and the rectangle were contoured with two lines, one white and one black.
1967 – 1968
Later, a custom branding approach was introduced, featuring a more primitive design where each character of the nameplate “Wal-Mart” (except the dash) was positioned in separate rectangular shapes. This version had more white space compared to the previous logo, and the designers opted for bold, black shapes of the letters.
1968 – 1970
The brand artists have slightly modified the previous logo by replacing the tall characters with shorter symbols, simultaneously making the rectangles into quadrangles. The dash was also housed in a separate frame.
1970 – 1975
The artists utilized the 1967-1968 design as a basis for the logo but made adjustments in terms of hues. They altered the correlation of black and white, opting for light letters on a dark backdrop. The symbols were put in rectangular frames, creating an eye-catching and visually striking design.
1975 – 1977
The following logotype changed dramatically compared to its predecessor. First of all, each symbol was rendered in a custom typeface with thick lines and many curled serifs, and small thickenings on the bars. This style was close to the one popular in western movies at the time.
1977 – 1981
The 1977 edition featured almost identical lettering. The only difference was that the serifs were made cleaner, the hyphen got thicker, and the color changed from black to dark gray.
1981 – 1992
Then, Walmart’s logotype became brown. The brand artists have additionally altered the script, opting for standard and legible typography without serifs. The dash between the parts ‘Wall’ and ‘Mart’ was positioned very close to the letters, with tiny gaps.
1992 – 2008
In the early 90s, Walmart’s brand design team removed the hyphen and put a classic star with five tips in its place. Furthermore, the coloring changed to dark blue.
2008 – today
The year 2008 saw a total revision of the company’s logotype, which remains in use until now. The most noteworthy alternation was a yellow emblem consisting of six ‘petals’ that were placed in a circular pattern. Additionally, the authors wrote the name caption in a script that was different from the previous version, but still pretty simple.
Color
The blue and yellow hues serve as Walmart’s main coloring that evokes openness and friendliness in viewers. In the logo, blue is used to depict the title, while yellow is for the emblem. The backdrop is white. Sometimes, they invert the colors of the backdrop and the inscription.
Font
The Walmart inscription has a distinct typeface, reminiscent of Myriad Pro. It also shares common elements with the script Rolphie 08 Extra Heavy. However, what sets the Walmart typography apart and makes it unique and attention-grabbing are the circled tips present on both the “W” and the “A” characters. These rounded elements add a unique touch to the emblem, helping it become recognizable and remarkable.
