In 1962 Sam Walton opened up his first “Wal-Mart Discount City” store in Rogers, Arkansas. Today, Wal Mart is a global force that dominates the US retail scene and is making inroads in other countries and is the world’s largest company in terms of annual revenue. The Wal Mart logo has undergone several changes that carry a subtle meaning as to the change of the focus. Still, it’s design represents simplicity and economy, two words that still exemplify the business.
Image Credit goes to underconsideration.com
Wal Mart Logo History
One of the interesting things about the initial design of the logo (which back then was spelled “Walmart” and not “Wal-Mart”) was the lack of a coherent design. The first design was simply the name laid out in whatever font was available to the printer at the time. While this could keep costs down, it also meant that the corporation lacked any unified presence.
This “un-logo” continued for three years until Wal-Mart settled on a western frontier design font. This evoked images of the Old West and Wal-Mart as a pioneer in the area of retail stores. The logo was still just the name of the store, although advertising and other signage (but not the building), expanded upon this with a rectangle-and-circle containing the words “We sell for less” and “Satisfaction Guaranteed”.
The next version of the logo simplified the font to an all caps, sans serif font in brown, later blue, and a hyphen (which was replaced with a star in 1992). The logo seemed to match the times, as Wal Mart grew into a bold force in American economics and rapidly swallowed up many of its competitors. This continued until 2008, when Walmart took the asterisk-star out of the name and placed it at the end of the name.
Logo Characteristics
Today’s Walmart is much softer than previous version. It is in a blue, mixed case letters that give it a softer feel than the bold all-caps logos of recent years. The gold “asterick” mark on the end of the name also could be taken to represent a sun and Walmart’s recent fixation on being an environmentally-friendly, greener company. The colors, pastel blue-and-yellow, represent a much calmer, more passive feel. This may represent Walmart’s attempt to shape itself not as the big block retail store of the past but as a softer company which is concerned as much about its environment and demeanor as it is its bottom line.
WalMart Logo Summary
The Wal Mart logo of today has had subtle changes to the Wal Mart logos of yesteryear, yet these logos represent a profound change in corporate thinking and public image. Wal Mart is no longer striving to be seen as the undisputed king of retail stores. Rather, it is looking to convey the image of a corporation that is environmentally friendly, both in the literal and figurative senses of the term. Whether or not this image sticks will be something we will all just have to shop and find out.
