The History and Story Behind the Sam’s Club Logo

Sam's Club

A logo is an important part of the brand image for any company. It is an image that people associate with a brand, and it creates an impression of what a brand is about. Therefore, creating a logo that represents your business well is essential. Throughout the company’s history, a logo may change multiple times to reflect the changes within a company. One example of a company that has done this is Sam’s Club. Here is an overview of Sam’s Club and the history of and story behind the Sam’s Club logo.

An Overview of Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs. It was founded in 1983, and it is owned and operated by Walmart Inc. The company is named after Sam Walton, who founded Walmart. Oklahoma was the location of the first Sam’s Club, although the headquarters are now in Arkansas. Currently, there are 599 warehouse clubs in the United States. They are across 44 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The states that do not have Sam’s Club warehouse clubs are Alaska, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The warehouses sell a wide range of goods, including office, electronics, home, furniture, garden supplies, grocery, pet supplies, health and beauty, auto, toys, jewelry, children’s accessories, and sporting goods.

The First Sam’s Club Logo

When the company was founded in 1983, the brand also introduced its first logo, and it remained the Sam’s Club logo until 1990. The first logo used was significantly different from the later versions. It was a simple black and white design, with lines and lettering in black against a white background, and no images. The word ‘SAM’S’ appears on the left of the design in large upper-case letters. To the right are the words ‘WHOLESALE CLUB’, also in upper case letters. However, they are smaller than the word ‘SAM’S,’ and the word ‘CLUB’ sits below the word ‘WHOLESALE.’ Below the lettering are three black lines, and the upper line is thicker than the lower two lines. Underneath the lines and set to the right of the logo is the wording’ A Division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’

Changes to the Logo

In 1990, Sam’s Club made the first changes to the logo. Unlike the original logo, the new logo was in two shades of gray, and the wording had changed to simply ‘SAM’S CLUB.’ ‘SAM’S’ was written in gray lettering against a lighter gray background, while the word ‘CLUB’ was written below in a lighter gray against a darker gray bar. Sam’s Club used this logo until 1993. The logo changed for the second time in 1993, and the changes reflected changes to the company. It coincided with Walmart buying out Pace Warehouse Club and converting them into Sam’s Club stores.This time the color scheme was bright blue and white. While the style of lettering and the wording remained the same, the words were written on a slant within a blue square that was angled so that two of the corners formed the top and bottom of the logo, like a square diamond. Although the company used this logo until 2009, they also used another logo between 1999 and 2006. Although the second logo used the blue and white diamond design, the additional logo was more elaborate and also used green and orange. Behind the blue design, the new logo had a green diamond positioned at a different angle to the blue diamond. A curved orange arrow pointing to the name of the brand contained the words ‘It’s a Big Deal’ in lettering in a handwritten style. Elements of both these logos were used to create a new logo design in 2006, and Sam’s Club used this logo until 2019. The blue diamond remained, although it was a deeper shade of blue. The white bar was removed, so all the lettering was in white.

Rather than having the lettering on a slant, the logo used from 2006 to 2019 had the wording written level across the middle of the blue diamond. Although the word ‘CLUB’ was still in the upper case letters, the word ‘Sam’s’ only had the initial letter in the upper case, and the other letters were written in lower case. Above the lettering, the design featured two interlocked diamonds, one in the bright blue first introduced to the logo, and the other in the same green as used in the logo used between 1999 and 2006. Below the main logo, there are another two interlocked diamonds; one green and one blue. Alongside the diamonds is the brand’s name, below which are the words’ Savings Made Simple.’ All the lettering in this section of the logo is written in the same shade of blue as the logo’s main diamond.

The Current Sam’s Club Logo

Sam’s Club introduced its two current logos in 2019, says Logo Timeline Wiki, both of which it continues to use. The introduction of new logos in 2019 coincided with Kathryn McLay replacing John Furner as the Sam’s Club CEO. The first of the two current logos simply says ‘sam’s club’ in blue in lower case lettering against a white background. After the words is a broken outline of a diamond in blue, which is a continuation of the theme of using diamonds in the logos, as this is a shape that is now associated with the brand. The second logo is in a blue square, although this is straight rather than the diamond design of previous versions of the Sam’s Club logo. Within the blue square is the name of the brand written in lower case in white lettering. Above the name of the brand, there is a split outline of a diamond in white.

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