32-unit Wal-Mart goes public

Discount Store News, Oct, 1999

BENTONVILLE, ARK., APRIL 20, 1970

Wal-Mart, a privately held chain of 18 discount stores and 14 franchised variety stores, has filed a 206,000 share offering to go public.

Proceeds will help finance inventories for the company's new 70,000 sq. ft. headquarters distribution center here, as well as the construction and inventories for at least six more full-line discount stores over the next two years.

Slated to open by this fall will be 40,000 sq. ft. to 60,000 sq. ft. range Wal-Mart Discount City units in St. Roberts, Poplar Bluff and Marshfield, Mo., and in Jacksonville, Ark. A 60,00 sq. Ft. store is set to open in Jefferson City, Mo., early next year.

Moving upward from its former 30,000 sq. ft. to 40,000 sq. ft. prototype, Wal-Mart will give ready-to wear 20% more space and also will devote more space to occasional furniture, office equipment, housewares, and hardware.

Wal-Mart's franchised ...

It didn't seem like a big deal in 1970. Plenty of upstart discounters were going public, and Wal-Mart was just one of many. White, Weld & Co. and Stephens Inc. took Wal-Mart public at $16.50 a share. One hundred shares of Wal-Mart stock purchased at its IPO would be worth more than $9.4 million today, and the stock has split 11 times in its history.