Sam's Club's history: How Walmart turned a supply store for small businesses into Costco's biggest rival
Ben Tobin  Â
Sam's Club was founded in 1983.Scott Olson/Getty Images
- Sam's Club opened its first discount warehouse in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1983.
- The name is an homage to Sam Walton, the famous businessman and founder of Walmart.
Sam's Club, a Walmart-owned members-only chain, has more than 47 million members across about 600 US discount warehouses nationwide and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Sam's Club membership card. Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: Sam's Club
The Sam's Club name is an homage to Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, who wanted to provide small businesses and other customers a space to buy items in bulk for a discount.
Sam's Club
Source: Sam's Club
"Mr. Sam wanted to leverage his resources to help other entrepreneurs like himself access the products and services they needed to make their small businesses succeed," Sam's Club's website states.
An image of founder Sam Walton on display at a newly opened Sam's Club in China. Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: Sam's Club
Walton decided to call it a "club" because he wanted to compete against the then-leader in low-priced, members-only retail warehouse stores, Price Club.
Associated Press
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
Price Club dated back to 1976. In 1993, it would merge with Costco, which had opened its first warehouse in 1983.
Interior of a Price Club warehouse. Keith Beaty/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Source: The New York Times, Costco
The first Sam's Club also opened in 1983, in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Walmart Museum
In 1987, Sam's Club made its first acquisition by purchasing Louisiana-based SuperSaver Wholesale Warehouse Club, which added more than 20 stores across 13 states to Sam's Club.
Charles Krupa/AP Images
Source: Associated Press
And in 1993, Sam's Club acquired Pace Membership Warehouse from Kmart, converting many of the more than 90 locations into Sam's Club stores.
Shopping carts in a corral in the parking lot of a Sam's Club store in Concord, N.H., Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Charles Krupa/AP Photo
Source: Los Angeles Times
In 2006, the company changed its logo, using it in stores and advertisements until 2019.
AP
Source: Sam's Club
The business is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, along with its sister company Walmart.
AP
Source: Sam's Club
Kathryn McLay is the current CEO of Sam's Club, assuming the role in 2019. "We still see ourselves as the 'experiment' Sam Walton launched back in 1983, always looking to evolve and improve," she said in a recent LinkedIn post.
Sam's Club
Source: Sam's Club, LinkedIn
A membership for Sam's Club currently costs $50 annually, which is cheaper than its chief rival, Costco's, $60 annual membership.
April L. Brown/AP Photo
Source: Sam's Club
The company had to hike up membership fees from $45 to $50 in the summer of 2022, its first price hike since 2013, due to inflationary pressures, it said.
AP
Source: Insider
In addition to national brands, Sam's Club also offers its own private label for food, called "Member's Mark."
Sam's Club
Source: Sam's Club
The warehouse sells a plethora of items on top of food, from household cleaning ingredients to kitchen appliances.
AP
Source: Sam's Club
For its 40th anniversary in April, Sam's Club offered new membership prices as low as $10 and savings for members.
AP
Source: PRNewswire
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