Retail Histroy Timeline

Aaron Montgomery Ward founded his company - First Mail Retailing

Jan 1, 1872

American merchant Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843-1913) helped create mail order retailing and built the large mail-order house which bears his name.

Frank Winfield Woolworth - First Five Cents Store

Jun 21, 1879

Opened the first five & dime store.

Sebastian Kresge - Founder of Kmart

Jan 1, 1899

S.S. Kresge Company founded by Sebastian S. Kresge. Nowadays, the company is known as Kmart.

Hechinger stores founded - First Home Improvement Store

Jan 1, 1911

Hechinger stores founded - First Home Improvement Store

KB Toys

Jan 1, 1922

Founded in 1922 by the Kaufman brothers.

S.S. Kresge Company, Ltd.

Jan 1, 1929

Kresge Canadian subsidiary S.S. Kresge Company, Ltd. was founded

Zellers Founded by Walter P. Zeller

Jan 1, 1931

Zellers Founded by Walter P. Zeller in Canada. W.T.Grant Co. becomes owner of Canada's Zellers discount chain in 1959.

IKEA Founded

Jan 1, 1943

IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden and it is owned by a Dutch-registered foundation controlled by the Kamprad family.

E. J. Korvette Founded

May 26, 1948

First Discount Store.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. Founded

Jan 1, 1949

Circuit City Stores, Inc. Founded as Wards Company

Mervyns Founded

Jul 29, 1949

Simpson-Sears Founded in Canada

Jan 1, 1953

Simpson-Sears founded in Canada.

Ames Department Stores Founded

Jan 1, 1958

Gilman Brothers, opened their first Ames store in Southbridge, Mass. Also major in discount retailing. Run out of business in 2002.

Target Stores founded

Jan 1, 1961

In 1962, the first Target store opened in Roseville, Minnesota, and in 2000 the company changed its name from Dayton Hudson to Target.

First Wal-Mart Store Opened.

Jan 1, 1962

Wal-Mart stores founded by Sam Walton in Arkansas

Kohl's Stores Founded

Jan 1, 1963

Max Kohl opened his first Kohl's Store in 1963.

Best Buy Founded

Jan 1, 1966

Richard M. Schulze and business partner James Wheeler open Sound of Music, an audio specialty store, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the future Best Buy.

Opening of the First Price Club

Jan 1, 1976

Opening of the first Price Club. Foundation for companies like Costco.

Home Depot Founded

Jan 1, 1978

The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ron Brill, and Pat Farrah.

Future Shop Founded in Canada

Jan 1, 1982

Costco Wholesale Corporation formed

Sep 15, 1983

Founded by James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, Costco opened its first warehouse in Seattle, Washington, on September 15, 1983.

Wal-Mart Became the World's Largest Retailer

Jan 1, 1990

Wal-Mart becomes the world's largest retailer with $32.6 billion in sales.

Wal-Mart Entered Canada

Jan 1, 1994

Wal-Mart entered Canada with the acquisition of 122 of the 166 Woolco stores.

Amazon.com, Inc. Launched

Jan 1, 1995

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994 and launched it online in 1995

Best Buy Acquired Future Shop

Mar 1, 2001

Ames Run Out of Business

Jan 1, 2002

Kmart went Chpt 11.

Jan 22, 2002

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Kmart and Sears Merged

Nov 17, 2004

Kmart and Sears, Roebuck & Co. to merge to create Sears-Holding Corporation.

Wal-Mart sales Hit 256Billion.

Dec 31, 2005

Wal-Mart Sales Hit 312.4Billion.

Dec 31, 2006

Mervyns Run Out of Business

Jan 1, 2008

KB Toys Run Out of Business.

Dec 1, 2008

IKEA's annual Visitors Hit 631Million World-Wide.

Dec 31, 2008

Circuit City Run Out of Business

Jan 19, 2009