Gibson's Discount Center, also known as Gibson's, was a large
discount store
A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down cos ...
chain in the United States.
There are a few Gibson's Discount Centers still operating under independent ownership; two in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in
Weatherford and
Kerrville, and two in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
in
Salina and
Clay Center.
History
Herbert R. Gibson and his wife, Belva, opened Gibson Products Co., a wholesale novelty company, in 1936 in
Abilene, Texas
Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan stati ...
.
By the late 1950s, Gibson had decided to refocus on discounting, and he opened the first Gibson's Discount Center in Abilene in 1960. The company grew mostly by franchising the store concept to others.
Sam Walton
Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992)
was an American business magnate best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's ...
once inquired about obtaining a Gibson's franchise, but nothing came of it. By 1964, there were 138 Gibson's Discount Center stores generating $190 million in revenue; by 1968, there were 434 stores generating $1 billion in sales.
The company's headquarters moved to