The True Meaning Behind the “Flower” in the Walmart Logo

Logos are a very important part of branding in any aspect of consumer attention. Often people are more familiar with a company's logo than they are the official name of the company. I still haven't figured out what that thing is on a Starbucks cup. I think it's the Greek goddess of overpriced coffee but that would be just a guess.

You've probably figured out that since I consider Starbucks to be overpriced, I shop at Walmart. Not much actually, but I am familiar with the retailer that has almost single-handedly wiped out small businesses across the country but I digress. I also have a question about the Walmart logo.

There you see it. It's the name of the store followed by an asterisk. Or what I thought was an asterisk. I figured an asterisk, like in sports records, was an easy way of explaining that there was "more in the store". But nope, that's not an asterisk.

I had a friend tell me it was a flower. That makes even less sense than my asterisk assumption. I can see why you'd think a flower but no, it's not one of those either. It turns out that thing at the end of the Walmart logo is a spark.

We know this because Good Housekeeping obtained a statement from the company where founder Sam Walton referred to that symbol as a spark. As in a spark of inspiration. Walton, according to Good Housekeeping, said it was a symbol of all the great ideas that helped develop the company over the years.

Walmart said in a statement that each leg of the "spark" represents a key value to the company. There are six of them and according to Walmart, they are Customer, Respect, Integrity, Associates, Service, and Excellence. I will leave it up to you as to whether or not you think the company has achieved those goals.

Maybe they are works in progress?

Regardless, you now know a simple secret that has been hiding in plain sight for years. Go ahead, test your friends, lord over them with your knowledge of Walmart, trust me it won't enhance your stature in hardly anyone else's eyes.

Kind of like having a Super Power that really isn't.