he worked for Jc penny then went into army after ww2 he borrowed money and bought a Ben franklins variety store it was doing well but the land lord wouldn't renew lease to him after some time he then asked for a place that he could rent for about 100 years. That became Walton's five and dime store. He had great ideas for lower prices and great deals so he went to the company Ben Franklin and they didn't want to hear his ideas so then became the wal-mart.....short for Walton mart. around that time Kmart and a few other well know stores were born.