TIMELINE: How Walmart Conquered the World

Walmart’s journey from small-town five-and-dime to mother of all megastores.


This timeline is part of Mother Jonesinvestigation into Walmart’s much-praised green makeover, for which reporter Andy Kroll traveled to China, the home of many of the retail giant’s manufacturers. He found that although Walmart claims to be monitoring its factories’ compliance with environmental and labor rules, its auditing system is plagued by corruption. What’s more, many factories outsource more than half their work to “shadow” factories—unregulated operations that auditors never visit at all. To read the full story, click here.

 

1951

Sam Walton opens his first five-and-dime in Arkansas.

1985

Forbes reports that Walton, worth $2.8 billion, is the richest man in America.

Steve McHenry/APSteve McHenry/AP

1988

Some stores now feature oil change shops, banks, and salons.

1991

First foreign Walmart opens in Mexico City.

1992

President George H.W. Bush awards Walton the Medal of Freedom. Later that year, NBC Dateline reveals child labor at a Walmart supplier in Bangladesh.

1993

Walmart opens a prototype ecofriendly store in Kansas, featuring a man-made wetland and a roof made of sustainably harvested timber. The company starts selling goods made in China.

1994

After the National Advertising Review Board warns that “Always the low price. Always.” is misleading, Walmart changes slogan to “Always Low Prices. Always. Walmart.”

1995

Iowa State University researchers find that five years after the opening of a Walmart, nearby small-town stores see an average 25% decline (PDF) in sales; they conclude that “smaller towns suffer the brunt of the discount mass merchandisers.”

1996

Walmart opens its first store in China.

1999

Walmart becomes the largest private employer in the world.

2001

In what will become the largest civil rights class-action case against a private employer in US history, six female employees file a discrimination lawsuit (PDF) against the company. The Supreme Court rejects class-action status for the suit in 2011 (PDF), effectively killing the case.Joey Caputo/Brave New Films
Joey Caputo/Brave New Films

2003 December

An anonymous blogger launches WalMart-Blows.com. Its “Work for Wal-Mart? Need to vent?” forum garners 10,000 posts.

2004 February

The Washington Post reports that in China, where 80% of the company’s suppliers are, Walmart’s factory employees work up to 80 hours a week and make as little as $75 a month.

2005

A leaked memo (PDF) reveals a Walmart HR exec’s proposal to “attract a healthier workforce” to cut back on health care costs.

2005 March

Federal investigators find that Walmart’s cleaning subcontractors hired 345 undocumented workers between 1998 and 2003.

2005 October

Walmart CEO Lee Scott says Walmart’s goal is to be 100% powered by renewable energy, create zero waste, and “sell products that sustain our resources and environment.” He doesn’t say by when.

2006

Walmart hires PR firm Edelman to launch a campaign around initiatives like increased starting pay, a $4 flat fee for generic prescription drugs, and a bargain organic foods line.

2007

A report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (PDF) finds that China produces 84% of Walmart’s wood products, a significant portion of which are sourced from illegal logging hot spots.

2008

Walmart rolls out a major initiative to reduce energy use and improve product safety in Chinese factories. It also changes its name from Wal-Mart to Walmart.

2009

An investigation by a Chinese labor watchdog group reveals that some Walmart suppliers created an “elaborate system to cheat Walmart audits.”

Jason Lee/ReutersJason Lee/Reuters

2010 February

Walmart announces it will cut 20 million metric tons of emissions from its supply chain by 2015.

2010 May

Walmart agrees to pay $27.6 million after illegally dumping hazardous waste in 42 California counties.

2011 January

At the urging of Michelle Obama, Walmart pledges to eliminate trans fats from its packaged foods and reduce sodium and sugar by 25% and 10%, respectively.

2012

Walmart has 357 stores, 30,000 factories, and 96,800 workers in China, where 70% of the products it sells are made (PDF).

2012 April

A New York Times investigation alleges that Walmart’s Mexico branch “has orchestrated a campaign of bribery to win market dominance.” Walmart is Mexico’s largest private employer, with 209,000 workers.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

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