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The humble beginnings of the world’s biggest businesses

Massive firms that started out small
Hermès started out as a harness workshop
Boots originated as a modest herbalist store
Coca-Cola was first served in an Atlanta drugstore
Kroger began as a bijou grocery store
Walgreens began as a single drugstore
Nordstrom was founded as a small shoe store
Harley-Davidson built its first motorcycle in a backyard shed
UPS had just one motorised delivery vehicle in its early days
Aldi began as a small grocery store
Tesco started out as a market stall
The Walt Disney Company's first studio was Walt Disney's uncle's garage
Delta Air Lines began as a crop-dusting operation
7-Eleven was launched as a stand selling basic groceries
KFC began as a single service station cafe
Lidl began as a humble fruit wholesaler
Samsung was originally a tiny grocery store and trading firm
Hewlett-Packard's first HQ and factory was a garage
McDonald's started as a food stand
IKEA was established with a cash reward for good grades
Walmart owes its origin to a franchised five and dime store
Mattel originated in a garage
Ferrero started out as a modest liquor, candy and pastry shop
Dunkin' had just one store at the get-go
Carrefour began as a relatively modest supermarket
Reliance Industries started out importing polyester yarn and exporting spices
Nike first operated out of the trunk of a car
Subway started with just one sandwich shop
Southwest started as a strictly Texas-only airline
Virgin was initially a mail order company
Starbucks started out as a one-store coffee bean retailer
Cardinal Health was a minor food wholesaler at the outset
Zara/Inditex originated as a single store called Zorba
Whole Foods Market co-founders John Mackey and Rennee Lawson were forced to live in their first store
Microsoft originated in an Albuquerque garage
Apple was born in a garage?
Ben & Jerry's started out as a neighbourhood ice cream parlour
Dell was also conceived in a university dorm room
Ryanair began with just one route
Amazon was created in a garage
easyJet started out with just two leased planes
eBay came into being as a hobby site created in a suburban living room
Google was founded in, yes you've guessed it, a garage
Alibaba was also launched from its founder's apartment
Spanx was launched from its founder's apartment
Linkedin was also created in a suburban living room
Facebook was conceived in a university dorm room
YouTube's original HQ was a small office above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant
Twitter was a side-project dreamed up atop a playground slide
Airbnb started out with three air mattresses and a makeshift website
Instagram began as a side-hustle created at a rented desk
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Courtesy KFC

KFC began as a single service station cafe

The world's second-largest fast food chain, KFC has a total of 22,621 locations in 136 countries. The chain started mega-small in 1930 when its famous founder Colonel Harland Sanders snapped up a Shell service station on Route 25 just outside North Corbin and began selling fried chicken and other diner staples such as country ham and steaks to hungry travellers.
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Daniel Coughlin

12 May 2021

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