The Doing Business in Bentonville Podcast
To create an ecosystem that connects leaders of all kinds – industry, community, student, educational, civic, investment and entrepreneurial – to help overcome Omnichannel Retail barriers through exclusive, insight-rich content.
The Doing Business in Bentonville Podcast
Ep. 77 - Peggy Knight's Path to Retail Excellence and Strategic Growth
Join us on a journey through the aisles of retail wisdom with Peggy Knight, the mastermind behind Woodridge Retail Group's innovative strategies.
Her heartfelt chat with Andy Wilson traverses her illustrious career, from her inception at Walmart to spearheading business development for the up-and-comers in the industry. Peggy's narrative showcases the pivotal role of smaller enterprises within the Walmart empire and unveils the secret sauce to Woodridge's offerings, which include amplifying online presence and mastering the art of reclaiming deductions.
As Peggy and Andy stroll down memory lane, they revisit Walmart’s southern saga of growth, and personal pivots from distribution to the bustling world of Sam's Club.
The art of persuasion through storytelling takes center stage, featuring fortified membership sales amidst competitors’ turf wars.
Lessons from these trenches and innovative wins, like the suspenseful car giveaway, illustrate the dynamism of retail and the enduring impact of strategic foresight.
Wrapping up, Peggy and Andy distill decades of leadership into golden droplets of career advice, touching on the importance of seizing moments, setting benchmarks, and the wisdom of Walmart's customer-centric approach.
This episode is a salute to the relentless pursuit of success and a tribute to the listeners who join Doing Business in Bentonville in celebrating the retail legacy crafted by the likes of Sam Walton. Discover not just a conversation, but a blueprint to thrive in the ever-evolving tapestry of retail.
Hello everyone and welcome to Doing Business in Bentonville. My name is Andy Wilson and I'm the executive director, and I want to say right up front, thank you so much for all your wonderful support. We really appreciate you watching and listening to our podcast and, as always, you can check us out at your favorite streaming channel Apple YouTube. You can check out doingbusinessinventonvillecom wherever you want to watch streaming. That's where we are. So again, thank you so much. My guest today, peggy Knight, welcome.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you so much, Andy. It's an honor to be here well it is so good to see you.
Speaker 1:I gotta tell you we have got so many great walmart sounds stories to talk about today. Peggy, we're gonna have a blast. We are, we are, yes, we are, and I will tell you. Peggy is an example of what can happen to you at a great company like walmart. And, uh, she going to tell us about her career and when she started and her journey through Sam's and Walmart and how she got to Northwest Arkansas. But first let's talk about Peggy, what you're doing today. You are Senior Vice President at Woodridge Retail Group. That's right. Now tell us about Woodridge Retail Group.
Speaker 1:That's right Now tell us about Woodridge what do you do?
Speaker 2:I'm responsible for business development and that covers a broad range of responsibilities and basically we cater to the small to mid-sized business and who wants to get their products into retail, and we work with all major retailers across the US and we basically place products where it makes more sense for the retailer. That requires a lot of consulting sometimes because perhaps it's a new product that hasn't gone to market. So we help them with branding, with positioning, we help them with business plans and really soup to nuts, because we are a large proponent of helping these small to mid-sized businesses reach their goals.
Speaker 1:Well, that's wonderful because your company has a great history. You're going to have what your fifth anniversary coming up soon, right this year, I believe, right. Yes, congratulations for that. Thank you for that. Thank you, and I will tell you, I have done research around this company and from strategy to sales to execution, growth all of that that you can help the small to mid-sized companies, right, that's phenomenal. That is. A large part today of Walmart's growth is coming from these small and mid-sized companies. It is. Is that correct? It really?
Speaker 2:is, it really is. And then, once they get into the stores, we also do deduction recovery. Oh really yes, and we've partnered with Harvest Revenue Group, who has a wonderful reputation here in Bentonville.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Harvest Revenue Group, who has a wonderful reputation here in Bentonville, and they help many clients, and even clients that aren't current clients of ours come to us because they go to our website and they see the deduction recovery piece and we lead them through the process and we lead them through the process.
Speaker 2:So it's a very rewarding job in that we also help them with e-commerce, especially Walmartcom or Walmart Marketplace. Many times these clients have their products out on Walmart Marketplace, out on Walmart Marketplace, but they haven't followed the rules, so to speak, in terms of the correct photography, the writing. So we have on staff an SEO writer who does a fabulous job, and we, I guess, have the playbook, if you will, you will from Walmart and we're able to actually bring people's products from not even showing up when a search is done, to actually bring them. Our goal is to bring everyone to page one of what they're looking for, so so it's an amazing opportunity to work with us to do that, and we also do sourcing. So I partner, or we partner, with Walmart and Sam's Club and there are items that they need and it's our job to go out and source those items and get them into the buyer's hands sounds like.
Speaker 1:You have a company that's that's very personal. You take a lot of interest individually, right, with your clients and, um, you help them reach their goals. Right, that's good. Right now, how do? How do we reach, uh, woodridge retail group? How do we reach Woodridge Retail Group? How do we? What's their website? Woodridgeretailgroupcom. Okay, well, that's good. Now we're going to put that up on our website and then we'll put it on information so you can do that. But you can also find Peggy Knott at LinkedIn. That's right, and I found her there and I'm going to tell you how I know her. We'll go back in a minute, but you know one of the things we really want to do and we'll come back and talk a bit more about Woodridge Retail Group.
Speaker 1:But Peggy's got a great story. You know one of the things that Sam Walton did. He was so instrumental and when he founded the company, he's focused on the people and I will tell you he wanted to do a couple of things. He wanted to build a great company, number one but he wanted to invest in the people and he did invest into the people. And Peggy's story begins at Walmart and, just like millions of other people, where they discovered Sam Walton and his passion and his vision, and they said I want to do that. That's what you did, absolutely Well, okay, so what I want to do, peggy, I know we're going to take a trip all the way to Colburn, alabama, right, and you know, I told Peggy when we were visiting, but I knew Peggy before, I mean when she came here to the home office.
Speaker 1:That's when I first met her. But Peggy's story is no different than mine. Here I was, I grew up in Alabama and I went to school there and then I was able to get into the Walmart when Walmart was moving east of the Mississippi River. They're recruiting from colleges throughout the South and that's how I came aboard. Your story starts a bit different, and that's okay, that's great. Tell us about your story.
Speaker 2:Okay, I started actually in Coleman, alabama, in 1983. Tomorrow will actually would have been my 41st anniversary with Walmart. I'm very proud of that. I started as an hourly associate in payroll and personnel and we were staffing the distribution center and we hired 500 associates up front. So I spent a lot of time interviewing and of course, back then we had to do we had time cards, so we had to calculate payroll and so I did those things for a few months but I didn't know in the beginning if it was a place where I really wanted to stay.
Speaker 2:I was a single parent at the time and my grandmother who raised me. I lived with her and I came home the first day, andy, and I said I just don't know if I can do this or not, because they have this cheer that they do. And of course I had to demonstrate to my mom and she laughed but she said I just think you need to stick with it and I said, okay, well, I'm going to try, but it's kind of crazy. So, at any rate, and it wasn't that long that Mr Sam paid a visit to the DC and he met with all of us and he was just so charismatic and positive and talked about how all of our dreams could become reality and he really had me pumped up then and I thought, okay, I might say, well, I might actually do this.
Speaker 2:And so I had to do something to differentiate myself. This was my thinking and I thought, okay, with all the associates here, we need to have a newsletter. So I actually developed the first newsletter in the company and I we named it the Associate and had a local newspaper actually print that so that it looked like a newspaper. And we did this to recognize the hard work of our associates and also key points in their lives, like in their birthdays, anniversaries, those type things. And the associates just absolutely loved it. Of course, we had pictures in it and they loved to see themselves when they were associate of the month and those type things, month and those type things.
Speaker 2:And so mr sam got hold one of those and he the next time he came, he asked for one and he said, uh, this is a great idea. And he asked for one every time he came and he said I think we need to do this for the entire company. So, of, of course, I didn't have anything to do with that, I was still working at the DC, but Walmart World was born Right. But I had so much fun with that and a few months later I was promoted to supervisor over the department and then I went into management and management led me to Atlanta, georgia, at Sam's Club.
Speaker 1:Okay, now all right, I'm gonna stop there for a moment. Okay, now I want to talk about Atlanta, georgia. So come on Alabama, at the Walmart distribution center, right, uh, you started you're, you're making like three dollars, three fifty three dollars and3.55 an hour an hour's. Associate a single mom and your grandmother said stay with it, exactly Okay. So that's powerful. I am Now. The recognition is great. And I remember when Coleman, alabama opened because when I went to Walmart again, know we, again I was in the South because that's where our growth was that's when we put a distribution center there. And what Walmart did? They put a distribution center in and they drew a map around 300 miles and then we said, okay, let's build stores within that radius, right, and that's exactly what you serve. So you have opened the South, just like I have, just like I did, but you have opened the southern part of the of the us. So great work. Now, after distribution center, you went to sam's right now. How did that happen?
Speaker 2:okay. Uh well, sam's actually was just getting started. They are in their first location the year that I started with Walmart and I was in the DCs for a little under two years before I was promoted and sent there. Okay, I had no idea anything about Atlanta and so the first location opened in South Atlanta, in the highest crime area in Atlanta, and I kind of stuck out like a sore thumb there. But I had many people looking out for me and my colleagues that are looking out for me, but I just saw it as a huge challenge. Well, you know, I was actually the HR person at that point in time, doing all the interviewing and trying to staff, sending people for drug tests and a lot didn't pass, that type of thing. So that part was very rewarding for me.
Speaker 2:Then came grand opening time. We'll fast forward a little bit and we had the Atlanta Symphony there. You know, we had basketball, the Falcons, we had everybody. That was the who's who's of Atlanta At the Sam's Grand Opening. Sam was there, all the executives were there and, andy, when we opened the door you could throw a football from one end of that club to the other and not hit anyone. That's a tragic story. And we were on the hot seat, you can bet, and Al Johnson at that time was the ceo and of sam's of sam's.
Speaker 2:And he said peggy, what? What do you think happened? And I said well, we didn't tell anybody. So you know, communication obviously is key. Uh, no one really knew that we had converted that old Home Depot store into a Sam's Club. And you know we had to get with it in terms of driving membership because we had stiff competition there with Pace and of course that story turned out good.
Speaker 2:But we were managers. We're on the road selling membership store to door. And I can remember getting a call from the home office one day and Tom Coghlan said I want you to go out and see how many memberships you can sell, and every manager there is going to do it. And so I won the prize every week for selling memberships because all I had to do was tell Sam's story. And everyone had heard about Sam and they wanted to hear his story. And man, we were selling memberships like crazy. So then I was put into, I guess, a regional. I was head of membership for the area and we started opening other clubs and we just replicated our strategy throughout the Atlanta market. So it was great, fun, great, great.
Speaker 1:So you know, Walmart just threw you in yes, not any experience in sound, no, and you just had to learn it. That's right On your own, exactly, yeah, it's a bit better. Learn it. That's right On your own, exactly, it's a bit better today, I think. On the training development. I know it is, but you know what? But you hung in there, you didn't quit. You figured out a way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, creativity, and it takes believing in yourself and believing in the company, and I 100% All right so now you're selling memberships much broader for that whole market, the metro market in Atlanta.
Speaker 1:So what happened after that with your career?
Speaker 2:Well, after that, pros Club came knocking on Dallas' door and I was working with Kenny Folk he was actually our director of operations and they called me one day and said we need you to move to Texas, and I'm like you could have asked me to move anywhere, but please don't send me to Texas. And they did. I mean I came up interviewed. And they did. I mean I came up interviewed and they gave me what I needed as a single parent, because you know, my grandmother actually moved with me every time. The company relocated me to watch after my son, because you know, we put in a lot of hours back in those days, and so price club was coming. Everybody was worried. And then he focused the door like a bolt of lightning and you know he and I were a pair. I mean we took atlanta, my storm, and now it was time to do the same for dallas, and I had a lot of lessons to learn.
Speaker 2:That market was really comfortable, yeah, and they were a little lax in some areas. So Kenny took care of that on the operations and merchandising side. And then, with membership, we formed a sales team, exactly like we did in Atlanta, and hired professional salespeople, many of which were retired from companies like IBM and put them out selling memberships, and you know, the memberships grew like crazy. So, long story short. Well, I have to tell a couple of stories here. The one is this pretty awesome is we had a trade show in atlanta. It was huge and all the suppliers were invited. There were actually 52 suppliers there, and so I sold membership to all of them and for all our employees, for employees employee benefits, and also gave away a car and this is one of your favorite stories, sandy. So, okay, this is a great story everyone.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you and I didn't know any better. Okay, and sometimes it's best not to know or it's best to ask forgiveness later, but either way, either way, I called Texaco and asked them if they could buy a car for us to give away in the trade show and they said, sure, we can do that. And it was a Thunderbird. So it was on the floor of the trade show and Tom Coughlin and a lot of the executives walked in and saw it and he wanted to know what I'd done or how I got this car, and so I just asked for it. So, yeah, all of a sudden bad break, so to speak, and it's like I just asked for it and I got it.
Speaker 2:But look at all the memberships we got here and you know, and anyway, the lady won, she was in dire need of a car and it was just a great story. It was a great PR story for us in that market. So we just continued on and we opened a location next to a new Price Club and the next thing I did was I contacted Kodak and asked them for a billboard and pace's parking and, uh, price club's parking lot, and it was there. I mean, fall in the center, turn here for the number one warehouse club in texas and it had a big state of Texas. Of course they love their, their state of Texas and one. So, um, it wasn't long, maybe a year. They went out of business. They closed that store. We were so sorry. Yes, them go, but yes, they closed that store and you know I have such great memories.
Speaker 1:So, peggy, these are great stories and it's so common in that era, when you know people were like you. You know Sam called them mavericks, right. You know he said we have a lot of mavericks in the company, right, and he encouraged that, sam encouraged that, right, and he encouraged that, sam encouraged that. And it fit you, it fit your personality, didn't it? It actually did.
Speaker 2:I had a blast. I love it.
Speaker 1:That's my favorite time and and and, building that foundation of support and customers. And Sam would just he was just a cheerleader, wasn't it? He would really encourage us to do that and we did it, and through hard work, determination, just and just, you know, just just just really determined, that we're going to do. We're going to do this.
Speaker 2:And he was so good at making you feel that you could do anything yeah, you set your mind to it Absolutely. And he was so good at associate recognition. And this is kind of a culture lesson. I think, too that still applies today. Culture lesson I think too, that still applies today. It's a timeless message that you know you treat your people right.
Speaker 1:You make them feel like they can do anything and they will go out of their way. Okay, now your story continues. So you've got to remember. Here's this young person in Cullman, alabama, $3.55 an hour. Now you go to Atlanta. Now you're in Texas. Remember now here. Here's this young person in culverland, alabama, three dollars and 55 cents an hour. Now you go to atlanta. Now you're in texas. Now you come to the home office. Right, okay, you could. Bentonville, arkansas. Yes, all right, what did you do? Uh, when you got to bentonville, because now you got another promotion they're bringing you to bentonville.
Speaker 2:Right, I got that promotion through note-taking. Now that's another story. But when I came to Bentonville, I was responsible for New Markets. We opened 65 Sam's Clubs that year. 65?, 65. Sam's Clubs, that was a record. It might even still be a record. It sounds like it could be a work. Yeah, and so I worked with. I had four managers who reported to me and they went out in the field and not only did they do membership training, but they also helped with the overall training and hiring and training of the new associates. And it was a dynamic team because they also those four managers had teams and uh, it was an amazing time. That was a very exciting time you know, I think you.
Speaker 1:Then you worked with, uh, one of my co-hosts, celia sw.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, I have such fond memories with Celia. She's actually one of my heroes when I think about my times with Sam's Club Credit. And Celia was always so encouraging and such a great listener and she always made you feel like you were important when you had a conversation with her. She was always completely engaged and you knew by your interaction with her that she was sincere and she honestly cared about you and your future. You and your future.
Speaker 1:You know, celia and I we're in a two-hour I think five or six podcasts now and we focus around leadership and servant leadership and based around her book that she wrote Right, and so we're just having a great time together. So make sure you check Celia Swanson out on our website also Now. So now you're Bentonville. You opened 65 clubs In one year In one year. Okay. So now another move is coming, right. You're moving on the Walmart side, right? So talk about that for us. What did you do on the Walmart side and how did you get there?
Speaker 2:Okay. So I was approached by the finance department uh, mike cook actually, uh and asked me if I would be interested in helping start walmart financial services and if, obviously I wanted him to tell me more because I was having a good time at Sam's Club. And once he told me and he wanted me to interview was the then president, jane Thompson. She just gave me an opportunity that I really couldn't refuse and that, again, was extremely rewarding because it was ground level and we were building from the ground up. And it's still rewarding to me today when I go into a super center and I see the front of the store and you know the whole money order, money transfer, payroll check, cashing and, of course, credit cards. And that was something that you know we, as a small team to begin with, actually made reality and now it's just, it's grown. I think it's one of the major profit centers of absolutely the company.
Speaker 1:It is so, okay, peggy, how many years from Cullen, alabama, how many years at Walmart 22. Okay, 22 years. Yes, you found your place. You know, when you began, you found what really inspired you, didn't you? Absolutely here? Absolutely the challenges of opening something or starting something from the ground level, building it, making it great so someone else could take it and go to another level. You built out those foundation principles. You did that, you and your team. Thank you for that. There's so many people like you. Walmart wouldn't be where it was today without people like you to come in and do the hard work and dedication and just taking any obstacle that got in front of you, moving it. Thank you. So thank you for that. Such a great story. It's such a great story, peggy. And if you were to think back a moment, what would you tell our viewers today? Two or three things. If you had to give them some advice, what would be two or three things you would tell them based on what you've done at Walmart so far? What would you say to them?
Speaker 2:I would say, first of all, be very careful before you send out. You say to them I would say, first of all, be very careful before you send a note to an opportunity to work okay at walmart. Okay, because it's still such a dynamic and fast-growing company and with doug mcmillan's leadership at the helm and he was back there in those early days too I would say that you're in good hands with the leadership that you have today and to think big, think big. If you have a goal, you have to tell yourself that I can accomplish this. And then get mentors and if you have managers that you respect, then perhaps they're not even in your department. Get with a leader that you truly respect and ask them to mentor you so that you can achieve your goals and be very clear as to what your goals are. And be very clear as to what your goals are, because if you are and if you really make a plan for your future and individuals are willing to help you along the way, there's nothing that you can't achieve.
Speaker 1:You're a great example of that and, indy, you've talked about some great leaders so far today in our time together. I know Dean Sanders had a. You mentioned him when we were visiting Right, yeah, he had a big impact in your life, didn't he? Yes, absolutely yeah, good, I know.
Speaker 1:When I was promoted to regional vice president, I was 29 years old and I worked for Dean and I remember we traveled in my region at that time in the South and we traveled stores for three days and I listened to him. He really poured into me Every store in the evenings we'd visit and I will tell you, he gave me such great guidance as a young leader. I'll never forget that. And then I got to work for him for several years and he continued to develop me and pour into me and listen to me and I listened to him and we had a great relationship and a tremendous amount of respect for him. So, yeah, dean was one of those great guys for me. He really was. Now, one other thing before we wrap up. You talked there was something at Walmart called a sundown rule. Yes, what's the sundown rule for our people that have never worked at Walmart?
Speaker 2:What's the sundown rule for our people that have never worked at Walmart? Okay, if you receive an email, a phone call or any correspondence from an associate, a supplier, you're to get back with them before the sun goes down that same day.
Speaker 1:That's right, yeah, and if you can't solve the problem, at least you respond to it Exactly. You had to respond to it Exactly by the sundown rule.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that rule. Sam really did that. He did Sam started that, I believe, but he embraced it and you know that was something that drove us. You know, another thing that we talked about was Walmart's core principles. You know, and you can check those out online at Walmart, but one of the things that service to the customer, you know that was so incredible. It set us. We focused on the customer, didn't we? We did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it set us. We focused on the customer, didn't we? We did, yeah, and sam made it so easy because he just said you know he came out with a 10 foot rule and you know, when you see a customer, you look them in the eye and smile and ask them how they're doing today. And that went so far with the customers.
Speaker 1:It did you're right and I think I do think that's one thing that our company could improve on today. In the stores and clubs, that doesn't happen often, unfortunately today, but I think again, sam did that so we could focus on what's important, and that was the customer, exactly, yeah. So, peggy, this has been such a phenomenal time of year and I really appreciate you walking down memory lane with all of us today sharing your experiences. And now, with all this knowledge and all this experience that you have, we begin talking about Woodridge Retail Group. Here's what I would tell all of our viewers today Peggy is one of a great team that's at Woodridge Retail Group and I will tell you, if you partner with them, you're going to get the sundown rule and you're going to get a woman that's not going to stop at any obstacle.
Speaker 1:I think you're going to blow it up and run through it or run over it or under it, because you're going to be able to help your customers at Woodridge Group accomplish their goals. Thank you, because you've told me that. I remember when we were talking early on, you talked about your commitment to the team, so I really encourage you to check out again, check out Woodridge Retail Group woodridgeretailgroupcom. Right, right, and check out Peggy at her LinkedIn and you can message her and I'm sure I don't know about you. You, but she got back to me before sundown every time, so any calls and comments.
Speaker 2:Peggy, this has been so great it's just been a privilege, andy, and I so appreciate your calling on me. I was pleasantly surprised and it just meant a lot, and sharing the memories today and also being able to share my current role has been so much fun Great, thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Well, you're welcome. It's a pleasure to have you today. I want you to come back. Okay, we'll talk some more To all of our guests. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for uh listening and watching. Again, we're on your uh favorite uh streaming channels to check us out, don't forget to go to dbbnwacom that's our website or you can just google doing business in bentonville it takes you to our website. On our website, not only all of our podcasts, but our focus around retail, the nominee channel. You'll see a ton of articles there that we have written or we have put there for your educational information. But check us out there. And again, thank you so much for watching and listening, peggy. Thank you again. It's been a pleasure. Thank you, andy. Okay, goodbye everyone. Thank you.