History of Walmart By rhines15 Jul 2, 1962 Walmart opened it first store in Arkansas Nov 12, 1967 the Walton family has 24 stored open and they are making 12.7 million dollars in sales Nov 12, 1970 Walmart becomes a publicly owned company and shares start out at $16.50 Oct 1, 1972 Walmart was listed on the New York stock exchange and it recorded 78 million dolllars in sales Nov 12, 1979 the Walmart Foundation was established Nov 13, 1980 With 273 stores, Walmart recorded 1 billion dollars in annual sales Nov 13, 1983 The first Sams Club is opened Nov 13, 1988 The first Walmart Supercenter is opened Nov 13, 1990 Walmart becomes America's #1 retailor Nov 13, 1991 Walmart went global Nov 13, 1992 Sam Walton dies at 72 years old Nov 13, 1994 Walmart expands into Canada Nov 13, 1996 Walmart expands into China Nov 13, 1997 Walmart makes 100 billion dollars a year Nov 13, 2009 Mike Duke becomes the CEO of Walmart Nov 13, 2012 Walmart has 10000 stores worldwide