The word "mart" is derived from "marct," a 15th century, Middle Dutch term. In the English language, it is defined as a fair or trading center. In the early years of the 20th century, the term was used in an agricultural context. References can be found to things such as "wheat mart" or "horse mart" auctions.

It appears that "Mart" began to be used in a wholesale-retail context in the late 1920s. Chicago's Merchandise Mart opened in 1930 and received mass media coverage. It was the world's largest business building. By the post-World War II years, "mart" had morphed into a retail buzz word. It was used extensively in newspaper write-ups, with the fledgling discount store industry adopting the term in a big way. The "discount mart" was born!

Within a few years there were Mammoth Mart, Miracle Mart, Valu-Mart, Gov-Mart, Gulf Mart, Villa-Mart, Unimart, FedMart, Worth Mart, Buckeye Mart, Baymart and Almart. In 1962, the most noteworthy mart-type stores of all came into existence...Kmart and Wal-Mart.

By the turn of the 20th century, the word "mart" had become archaic. In fact, had the Kmart and Wal-Mart chains not risen to such prominence, it is likely that, by now, the term would be out of usage altogether.

In this section, we shall cover the rise and fall of the nation's discount mart stores, many no more than a fading mercantile memory.