Sam's Club's history: How Walmart took Sam Walton's dream to supply small businesses and turned it into Costco's biggest rival

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.
Today, Sam's Club touts nearly 600 discount warehouses nationwide and 47 million members.

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.

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.

Shopping carts at the entrance of a Sam's Club. Sams Club plans a strong growth in China in coming years, selling higher-end products and diversifying its merchandize to appeal to the Chinese upper-middle class. (Photo by ) — 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.

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.

Merchandise at a Price Club warehouse — 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.

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.

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.

Source: Los Angeles Times

In 2006, the company changed its logo, using it in stores and advertisements until 2019.

Source: Sam's Club

And in 2019, the company changed to what is now its current logo.

Source: Sam's Club

The business is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, along with its sister company Walmart.

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.

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.

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.