<P> At some point Sam Walton made the decision to achieve higher sales volumes by keeping sales prices lower than his competitors by reducing his profit margin . Inspired by the successes of other discount department store chains, Walton opened the second store in Harrison, Arkansas that year . Responsible for the purchase and maintenance of signage, Walton's assistant, Bob Bogle, came up with the name "Wal - Mart" for the new chain . By 1967, the company grew to 24 stores across the state of Arkansas, and had reached $12.6 million in sales, and by 1968, the company opened its first stores outside of Arkansas in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma . </P> <P> The company's first stock split occurred in May 1972 at a market price of $47 . By this time, Walmart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma, and expanded into Tennessee in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974 . As the company expanded into Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 associates, and total sales of $340.3 million . </P> <P> By 1977, Wal - Mart expanded into Illinois and made its first corporate acquisition, assuming ownership and operation of the Mohr - Value stores, which operated in Missouri and Illinois . This was followed by the acquisition of the Hutcheson Shoe Company in 1978 . In the same year Walmart also branched out into several new markets, launching its pharmacy, auto service center, and jewelry divisions . </P> <P> In 1981, Wal - Mart expanded into the southeastern US market, opening stores in Georgia and South Carolina, and acquiring 92 Kuhn's Big K stores . They expanded into Florida and Nebraska in 1982 . </P>

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