Kuhn's-Big K, (typically signed as simply Big K) was a large

discount store Discount stores offer 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 costs. Types (Uni ...

chain in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

that merged with

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

in 1981.

History

Kuhn's-Big K began in 1913, as a chain of

variety stores A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, household hardware, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. ...

called Kuhn Brothers, founded in

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colu ...

. The first Kuhn's-Big K was opened in 1962, and by 1969 operated 35 variety stores and 18 Big K discount department stores. That same year, the company was officially renamed to Kuhn's - Big K Stores Corporation. In March 1970, the company announced plans to go public with 400,000 shares, then operating 21 Big K stores and 34 Kuhn's Variety Stores. The company later went public in April 1971, with 512,000 shares of common stock. Kuhn's Big K began an expansion push in the early 1970s, and by August 1971 had a total of 17 stores in varying stages of development. The company at this time began to open larger and larger stores, the biggest at the time being a planned 76,000 sq ft location in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The company had a total of 30 Big K stores and 32 Kuhn's Variety Stores, when they bought out the lease of a Sky City store in

Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of American Revolutionary War, Revol ...

in January 1972. Big K expanded into South Carolina with the purchase of competing discount chain Edward's in September 1977, adding 33 stores, operated as subsidiary Big K-Edwards, to the then 105 stores. In June 1981, Kuhn's-Big K, then described as "financially struggling" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', agreed to a merger with competitor Walmart in a deal valued at $13 million. The merger followed another attempted merger with

in 1980, which collapsed due to store lease complications.

References

{{reflist

External links

Exterior picture of Big K store
- fro

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060719071543/http://www.walmartfacts.com/content/default.aspx?id=3 Archive of Wal-Mart's official timeline mentioning the merger Defunct discount stores of the United States Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Retail companies established in 1962 Retail companies disestablished in 1981 Walmart