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. 104 - Who Knew? The Walmart You Thought You Knew Is Gone
Sam Walton's legacy has evolved far beyond big-box discount stores into a technological powerhouse that few consumers fully recognize.
Host Andy Wilson sits down with Kim Souza, a veteran journalist on the Walmart beat, to explore some of the retailer's latest developments.
The "Who Knew" marketing campaign reveals what Walmart has become - a company capable of delivering goods via drone in 30 minutes, employing artificial intelligence shopping assistants, and building alternative revenue streams through advertising and data ventures.
During Walmart's recent shareholders meeting and associate celebration, leadership showcased a remarkable balancing act between technological advancement and human investment.
While competitors focus primarily on automation, Walmart pours billions into employee development programs that transform store associates into well-paid technicians. Their Associate to Tech program represents this philosophy perfectly - six weeks of training followed by apprenticeship that can elevate workers into $70,000 roles, fundamentally changing lives while building loyalty.
The retail giant's strategic evolution extends to capturing the next generation of shoppers. With the upcoming Weekend Academy apparel line targeting 8-10 year old "Gen Alpha" consumers and AI shopping assistant "Sparky" catering to digitally-native shoppers, Walmart positions itself for decades of growth.
Their acquisition of Vizio and expansion of advertising businesses provide insulation against market pressures like tariffs while enabling continued price competitiveness.
Perhaps most telling is Walmart's new Northwest Arkansas campus - a physical manifestation of their future-focused mindset designed explicitly for productivity and collaboration.
Their Global Security Operations Center epitomizes this forward thinking, monitoring potential disruptions worldwide and enabling rapid response to disasters, often arriving before government agencies. Despite the nostalgia of leaving their original headquarters, the new facility embodies what Sam Walton valued most: listening to people and empowering them to serve customers better.
Want to experience the retail revolution firsthand? Visit Bentonville to see how Walmart is redefining what's possible in retail while staying true to its people-first roots. What aspect of Walmart's transformation surprises you most?
Well, hello everyone and welcome to Doing Business in Bentonville. I'm Andy Wilson and I'm the host today and I've got a really special guest. I say a friend, a special guest and we've known each other a long time, kim Suzu. Welcome to Doing Business in Bentonville. Well, kim is a journalist. She's also the senior analyst, top business and politics and Northwest Arkansas business journal. When there is always breaking news, I just text her and say OK, kim, let's get in the studio, let's talk. What we're going to talk about today. Our topic is Walmart. We, walmart, just recently completed their shareholders meeting and the associate celebration. Kim was on the inside of all of that. I was on the inside of some of that, but as a former Walmart officer and Kim, you know I always look forward to our time together.
Speaker 2:Me too. It's always great to talk. It is, and you know I always look forward to our time together.
Speaker 1:Me, too, it's always great to visit your talk region. It is, and you know you do such a great job. You're such a great journalist. As I mentioned, I've known you for years and years, and she said I used to be her quote person, and I think that's probably correct, right? Kim would text me and say I need a quote, andy, and so I'd say, okay, let's see what we can do, and we always had just some good times together and, kim, thank you. Okay, Today, though, what we're going to do is really get into Walmart.
Speaker 1:What happened at the shareholders meeting I know so many of you have. You've read the financials and you've seen the release. We're not going to get into that. It's there, it's on the website. You can check all the financials out. What we're going to do is get in the people side of business, what Walmart is saying and doing around people, around merchandising and around the future of what they talked about. So, kim, again welcome, and let's just get started and just share with us some of your experiences attending the walmart events well um it.
Speaker 2:Walmart puts on a great show and they really um go out of their way to help media see what we might not already know about Walmart. Media come from all over the world to this week and it was really a very informative week. Some things that really stuck out to me was you can't watch TV or be on social media the last few days and not see knew. That is walmart's new marketing campaign and they um are finally telling their own story about who they are.
Speaker 2:People know walmart as a low price leader um, you know, lowest basket price of anything but but people don't know a lot of people don't know about the technology arm of that company and Walmart has really, in the last few years, invested so heavily in technology. Not only technology, but they have brought on a whole revenue producing unit Walmart Advertising, walmart Connect, data Ventures. They are insulating themselves from things like tariffs and things that are beyond their control because they have this additional revenue source memberships, membership income. They have this additional revenue stream that is really fueling that engine for Walmart and allowing them to keep prices low even in the face of tariffs. I love that they're starting to tell that story that they can get you drone delivery in 30 minutes, within 30 minutes. They've partnered with Wing recently to expand that to five cities, large metro areas, and they talk to us a lot about why they are investing in drone. We said why do you want to invest in drones when your car delivery is already within an hour?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And Doug said we're an and company. We're not an or company. We want to give people choices. You know, sometimes you need it in 30 minutes, you're right. Sometimes you need it in 30 minutes, you're right. And so I applaud Walmart for thinking of themselves as an and company and giving customers more choices. That's all part of the who knew. Who knew you know that they had express delivery within an hour. Who knew that your Walmart Plus membership has all kinds of parks including if you live in one of these areas Tampa, houston, orlando that are getting these wing delivery expansion for drones. If you're a Walmart Plus member, that drone delivery is zero cost to you. It's $19.99 on top of the price of the order if you're not a Walmart Plus member. So Walmart is really thinking about growing their Walmart Plus membership and they keep adding perks for that. That's all part of who knew.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:So that was one of the things that stood out to me was the marketing campaign, and they also have invested a ton in technology. Doug said we've done some innovative things with generative AI and agentic AI, and agentic AI, if you don't know, is artificial intelligence that is not monitored by human agent. It really is running on its own and Walmart is delving into that. They are doing it. They've been doing it for years. They've been investing in Ask Claude, Ask Wally, Ask Sam. Now it's Ask Sparky, which is the customer facing shopping assistant the customer facing shopping assistant. That is interesting because they unveiled it this week and I gave it a gave it a try and wrote about it.
Speaker 2:Sparky was helpful with some things. Sparky's not quite smart enough to do all my shopping for me, but it did. It did do some of my shopping for me. I know that Sparky will get smarter over time and while I may not use Sparky that much, I like to walk the stores and see what's new and whatnot. Younger generation will use Sparky and I think Walmart is smart in trying to court this younger generation.
Speaker 1:And that seems to me as a major focus coming out of the shareholders meeting, the associate celebration meeting is the younger Walmart is really focused on the younger shoppers and I think Sparky is going to help that. But you know there's a new generation of shoppers that you know. A lot of us have grown up with Walmart. They haven't.
Speaker 2:Well, and there's more choices today. There's more retail choices Right.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And Walmart knows that, if they can court these Gen Alpha, which eight, eight, nine year olds even, yeah um, if you, if they can find you, uh through an end, if you can find, if they can find walmart through an influencer on youtube or some other social media right they, they can become a fan of walmart at nine and ten years old right um, something else walmart is doing for to court that generation.
Speaker 2:They're unveiling a new apparel line called weekend academy. It's geared directly to tweens, uh, gen alpha. It's coming out just in time for back to school. I think it'll be in stores in july right um, it's a very smart, smart, sophisticated apparel line.
Speaker 2:They did a child youth fashion show for us in the new merch building over at their new home office and the kids looked great in the clothes. They were priced around $15, super affordable for families and it's really a category I don't. I don't particularly write a lot about apparel, but I am a shopper and I have grandchildren that age.
Speaker 1:Right, right and.
Speaker 2:I will tell you that's. That's a, that is a category, age category that has been pretty much ignored. And unless you're going really high in and kids grow so fast, parents these days don't want to spend a ton of money on, you know, school clothes. Um, walmart's really hitting it out of the park. I think, with that looking at um, this generation, this gen alpha, and how we can, how we can reach them, from toys to technology, to apparel they're really after the Gen Alpha generation. I think that's smart.
Speaker 1:I do too, you know, because it's the future, yes, and you know one of the things I would, and then you can speak with it. I speak about it, but you know, to me, when I listen to all the financials and then the associate celebration and the speeches that the executives made, it is definitely truly about the future and it's, you know, walmart's always done that. My almost 30 years there, we were always focused on that. But today, with technology, with AI and all the technology advances that you talked about, walmart has invested in. They're very, very focused there. You know, last year they introduced, you know, a lot of food items, healthy food items. You got to sample a lot of those things. Better, good, yeah, better.
Speaker 1:New private brand and you know, I think that's doing really well. In fact it's doing well so, so you could see that this is this walmart is really, really focused on the futures you talked about.
Speaker 2:Um well, let's talk about their investments in people yes, I, I love the.
Speaker 2:One of the things that Doug said to the media was his favorite day ever. His favorite days ever in retail are the days that he can give promotions and raises. It trumps all other parts of his business. And he said we've invested heavily in people. And you know the old tagline people make the. Our people make the difference. Walmart can prepare for the future, but if they don't bring their people with them, they don't have a future. And I don't care how much you invest in technology, if you don't have the right people on the bus you're not going to make it right and I I applaud doug mcmillan and his investment in people because it came at a cost early on.
Speaker 2:Um, they may started making those investments in people around 2018, I think, 2016. And it wasn't. It was a billion dollars and to start with, and then another billion dollars, and then they educate a billion dollars in training and free, free college education and training and it just seemed like Walmart was spending a lot of money on people and their earnings were suffering. The financials were, they were guiding down because of it and their stock actually lost $20 million in market cap. After Walmart announced a big investment in people and I heard this this week Doug was in New York at an investor conference and he saw that happen in the stock market. He told his pilot hold the plane, I'm going downtown, I'm going to Wall Street, I'm going to get on Squatbox, I'm going to tell them why it's so important to invest in people. And apparently he did that.
Speaker 1:He did that Right.
Speaker 2:And he stated the case. We have to have our people, then we have to invest in our people. And? Um, so they have brought wages up. Now they get vilified in the press for having low wages. Um, and he always says our starting wages aren't the highest in the in the market, but boy, our store managers make good money. Our managers make good money. Um, you can get promoted so easily within Walmart. You can become CEO. He's living proof. So is John.
Speaker 1:Farner.
Speaker 2:I'm just telling you, you can start as an hourly employee associate and climb as high as you want to climb.
Speaker 1:You can.
Speaker 2:And that ladder of opportunity is really what he's focused on. I think it's been. I think those investments are paying off. I think they've made those investments in people and now they've made those investments in technology and now it's coming together. This is why this and their revenue producing parts of the business the Walmart Connect, the Data Ventures all of that extra income is For our audience. Think with me for a second.
Speaker 1:When I joined Walmart in 1976, we had 100 stores and I grew up there. I didn't want to leave. I had multiple jobs under that same roof and every time you know, walmart was investing in me to prepare me, to equip me to do the drones and it was a phenomenal career.
Speaker 1:The great thing about it is it has even improved, as you just spoke about, which is awesome. But the point I want to make, think it with me In the Bud Walton Arena there was 13,000 people. Most of those were associates from around the world in that arena. Now let's think that for a minute that was investing in people bringing those associates hourly associates from around the world to hear the message about Walmart and hear all the major leaders speak about Walmart.
Speaker 1:But here's what Doug said, and I want to underline this for all of our leaders that are watching and listening to us today. He said the reason we're having this meeting is to listen to our people. Having this meeting is to listen to our people. Now, they shared information and educated people, but they would break out into all these small groups based upon area that you worked at Sam's Walmart International and break out, and the leaders from Walmart would listen to the associates on how they could improve things, things that they aren't doing, they should do and even from transportation, logistics, all the divisions. When I was with Walmart, we did the same thing Not 13,000 because we weren't that large, but the point was Sam Walton, when we would travel the stores, he would say go listen to your people. That philosophy, that culture is still there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's, and you've written many times about it, but I mean it's you've read many times about it, but you know, the one of the things they had us do last week, andy, was they let us go. They took us to the one of the academies that they have, and I'm not sure what the store number is, but it's the one at the mall. In Fayetteville there's a learning academy Three fifty nine.
Speaker 2:Three fifty nine. There's a learning academy 359. 359. Okay, there's an academy that they built right next door to it. There's around 200 of those academies that they've built across the country to train their employees.
Speaker 2:I know, and they actually put us through some training. They put the media through some training that day so that we could see a hands-on how it's done. How it's done and um, they, um, they. They also introduced this week um an expansion to the associate to tech. Um, you know that any associate or employees could um train to be a technician to work on this technology. That's in stores and clubs and refrigeration and whatnot. That's in clubs and so that's a program. That that was that they started last year. It was super successful. I think.
Speaker 2:One hundred and thirty eight employees went through the program and got higher paying jobs in the in the tech fields, in the tech fields, the trades, and stayed at Walmart. Walmart said I said, do you, how do you select those people to do this? And they said, well, we, anybody who was working in a store, if they can get their manager to sign off on it, then they can join the tech program and associate to tech program. And so they had this circuit thing set up there for us to do and they showed us how to connect a circuit. You know, physically connect a circuit. One of the graduates taught us how to do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But they showed us that and she talked to us about how it changed her life. She was working in a store, living at home, not really wanting to go to college really wasn't her thing took advantage of the associate to tech program and um I think it was, um, it's six weeks of, uh, six weeks of training and then you do a an apprenticeship type thing in a store. She was able to do all that and graduating, you know, move up and she got a position as a technician in a store close to where she lived. She's been able to buy a house, she's been able to upgrade her car. It has changed her life. It's wonderful.
Speaker 2:And I just think Walmart is doing this. They're doing it for truck drivers. If you want to be a truck driver, but you don't, not everybody wants to drive a truck, but a lot of people want to fix things and that's what she does she fixes things.
Speaker 1:And you know, I think too, and the other thing that I think that goes along with that is you know where you can work at Walmart and you can get your online degree, and multiple colleges around the country now many, many colleges around the country are participating, and so you can get your degree, you can graduate. Walmart will pay your tuition and your books while you work there and you don't have to stay once you graduate. You can leave if you want to, but you know what people are going to do. You don't have to stay once you graduate. You can leave if you want to, but you know what people are going to do. They're going to stay. Many people are going to stay. Invest in their educate, because walmart is invested in retention level.
Speaker 2:Since they began offering that, the retention level is is gone up right exponentially well and people aren't leaving. I mean, they could leave, but they don't leave.
Speaker 1:Um, that was smart well and and you know what we have read and and so many people now are focused as you just in great example you just explained so well, you know is it's the tech side of it. Uh, where I don't want to, I don't want to go to college, but I want, want to get really good in this space, in this tech space, and if it's refrigeration or whatever it is, walmart can train you and develop you, just like the example you and look it changes a person's life. That is what Walmart is.
Speaker 2:It's a great retailer, but it's so much focused on the people sharing those stories about who knew that you could, you know, be a store associate at 1050 an hour and train for six weeks and then three months in an apprenticeship and, you know, make $70,000 a year as a technician. I mean, that's a big, that's a big thing and Walmart's not telling that story enough.
Speaker 1:I totally agree. You know, when we met with Doug at the beginning of the year, we actually talked about that and said you know, you have got to get this out because it's changing and impacting people's lives in such a major way. It's just opportunities. So we talked, we talked a bit about the shareholders meeting, we saw some about the associate meeting now and the people, which is so, so important. So now, as we think about the future, kim, as all things you were just in, as you think a minute about the future of you know, they're actually growing. Sam's Club, they're opening a new club this year, international is growing, the super centers continue to grow and so, as you think, they're growing their marketplace they're growing their marketplace.
Speaker 2:Yeah, growing it. Yeah, advertising business, every aspect of walmart is growing right, it is, it is.
Speaker 1:And. And then you talked about you know, you know walmart's. You know major focus is faster service, on your hour, delivery for groceries and medication and other items. You talked about that, using the drone service to do that, but also just the same day delivery. Right right, that's happening as you think about your time and you're very immersed in this for several days. What other thoughts do you have, your take?
Speaker 2:away. Well, I was. I'm impressed, as impressed as I've ever been, with the top leadership at Walmart. I think the C-suite is as strong of a leadership as I've ever seen in my 17 years of following this company. Not to take away from other leaders that have served in those roles, but I'm just saying pound for pound, boy, they've got strong leadership. Two of their four CEOs cut their teeth internationally with great retailers. Bring all that insight to retail to Walmart. The other two cut their teeth right here in Arkansas and work their way up as hourly employees. But not to take away from them. They see the world differently than people who have grew up in different countries. I just think they're marrying all that together. They've got youth, they've got experience, they've got everything they need to really grow this company. They're bringing on some amazing talent to run the advertising business. They purchased Vizio, which I think is going to open up a whole new revenue stream for them. I agree.
Speaker 2:It's going to open up a whole new revenue stream for them. I agree they are making such good decisions in terms of who they're bringing on and what they're buying and how they're investing. I just think it's got their head around the problems tariffs a little bit and Walmart's position on tariffs has not changed. Two-thirds of what they sell is made, assembled or grown in the United States. You know China and Mexico and Canada are their largest trading partners. Walmart is impacted by tariffs but it's not going to stop them. They are going to try to keep prices low.
Speaker 2:Prices on some things are going to go up. Don't know what, don't know how much. We'll have to see how trade policy shakes out. But Doug said you can guarantee we're going to be competitive on price and I love that strategy. It's not a permission for suppliers to jump up prices just because there's a tariff scare. Walmart has said we're holding the line on prices and I don't feel sorry for my suppliers. Many of them have higher margins than we do. We work together because we serve the same customers and we're going to work together to keep prices low and I love that.
Speaker 2:The way they're thinking about tariffs, instead of making an excuse that tariffs are coming and we're going to raise prices. They've been more thoughtful about how they're talking about it. He said some prices will go up Don't know how much, not going to say we're going to hold them down as long as we can and we're going to try to keep food prices down. Patio furniture may go up a little bit. I love that because he's calming.
Speaker 2:The whole management team has a calming influence. When they speak they're charismatic. You don't have to be charismatic to be a leader, but it sure helps if you are, and they really were thoughtful about how they talked about tariffs and didn't shy away from it. But I love that. They're positioning themselves for the next 50 years and they had to make those investments in technology and people and those still will continue. They've got a good ground laid but they're going to build on that. There's going to be more investments in technology and people. There has to be. But leonard has really set itself up for success. Um, I believe it. I analysts all over wall street are clamoring that it's got to be in your portfolio, no matter what the economy does right um, because they're positioned well.
Speaker 2:Any company that can grow profits ahead of sales at this time, right you gotta own right, that's right, I agree, yeah, and and they are set up to do it, and it's just, it's a, it's a whole new walmart, a new business model. Who knew? Well, they're trying to tell us to listen up.
Speaker 1:Well, kim, you know I always enjoy having you on doing business in Bentonville and you always have such great takes and your thoughts, especially around the things you're very passionate about and you're very passionate about your business. And you know, the thing that I think we wrap up on is we talk about the new campus Game changer. We both have been there. It's worth a trip to northwest Arkansas to see it, if you've never been here, and to experience the campus and how well it's laid out. Because, back to investing people well again. Well, walmart and a lot of you know their family the family foundation was very involved in this campus because it's for the future.
Speaker 1:it's not just the life of the current leaders, it's the future the future and it's, and it's designed for one thing, and that is for productivity of people yes you know, and it's the great space, you know when you park your three minutes walk from your office or less. Uh, there's great restaurants, there's great coffee shops. You can get on an e-bike and ride from building to building. It's so well done.
Speaker 2:That's your thoughts, any thoughts you have on the vikings I think it's a game changer for walmart because, um, there was something nostalgic about the old building, I think, because you know, those were the halls that Sam Walton bought, and it was kind of sad. The last time I was in that building for open callbacks In October, I was in the auditorium and they said this is the last big meeting we're going to have in this auditorium. Last time this meeting will be held in this auditorium and it was a little, a little sad because they're hallowed, kind of hallowed ground. Yeah, I agree, but wow, wouldn't Sam smile with this new campus? Absolutely, because it is built for productivity, like you said.
Speaker 2:Let me just give you an example. I am going to be writing about this, but they have something called GSOC and it is their Global Security Operations Center and they had one at the old home office. I was in there years ago and interviewed their meteorologist and some of the people that work on the GSOC team. But people say, how does walmart always know when there's going to be a hurricane? Why are they always there before fema?
Speaker 2:well, they got people working on it 24, 7 that's right 365 and um, they had their new g-sock center at the home office. We got to tour that and it is wow. Now, um, it is so much bigger and so much more capability than what they had before. Anything that could impact stores or facilities in the world, from ports shutting down, from a shooting in a neighborhood that might impact a store I mean they have people.
Speaker 1:Hurricanes, tornadoes.
Speaker 2:Weather, typhoons, earthquakes. They have people watching out for that. They have the people on one side with the world map, all the threat center out there in the center, a huge map that covers the whole wall, all the trucks en route from distribution center. To store all these tiny, tiny dots that represent trucks Right, because they could be a trucking accident.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:They're monitoring that. They got a team over here monitoring cyber attack threats, yep, so they are really vigilant.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:At keeping watch around the world, things that could impact the business and the people who work for Walmart. They they have a whole new, brand new area for when there is a hurricane and we're just now hurricane season is just started and they have a whole new area where, when a hurricane is making its way to the US or to one of the Puerto Rico or where they have stores, they will assemble a team who will go to this area and they will bring suppliers in and they will work to mitigate. What can we do? How can? How fast can we get there? How how many trucks do we need? They will do that and they will. They will mobilize and they will get there before the storm hits. That's why Walmart is there with water and can get your insulin if you need it. I mean, that's why Walmart is there, because they are working on it. Yeah, people don't know.
Speaker 1:That's right. I, you, you did a great job explaining that and, um, you know, as we wrap up and step back for a moment, it it brings, um, you know, uh, great satisfaction to us, uh, that walmart is, is doing what you're doing. Uh, they do make mistakes, we know that. But perfect, right. But here's the thing I think, thing I think I would like for our viewers to take away is that there are things here that you can learn, that you can take and evaluate your business. Look at your business. But the most important thing that we have talked about today is the reason that you described about the emergency process is because it's about people. Again, you began the show talking about the investment of people.
Speaker 1:We ended the show about help protecting people the people and that is the underlying of Walmart and they just happen to sell merchandise. They just happen to sell merchandise. You know. But I think you know in all the conversations we've had today in the shareholders meeting, the associate celebration, it's really, at the end of the day, still what Sam Walton said it's about the people.
Speaker 2:Well, they don't have a business without their people, that's right.
Speaker 2:Right, and I think Sam said, there are no cash registers in the home office, so it's nice as it is, so you don't take care of your people in stores and distribution centers, you don't have a business, and I love that that they're doing that. Um, I, I, I see it. I know there are naysayers and there are people who say they could do better, we could all do better, but you have to admit that they are making strides in the right direction and that's what I would say. They're not perfect, they're not the end-all, be-all to everybody, yet to everybody. Yet they're not going to stop trying to get there Right and I just, you know, I just think they've got the right people on the bus and they're headed in the right direction.
Speaker 1:I would agree. Well, kim Sousa, thank you, always Thank you, and you're always welcome doing business in Bentonville, and you need to check Kim out. I mean, as I mentioned at the top of the show, she's a journalist. She's senior analyst, taught business and politics and Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. Check her out. She's on LinkedIn. She does a great job of reporting and you'll enjoy her articles. Make sure you check those out Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for being here Again thank you, thank you, thank you for being here.
Speaker 1:You bet Anytime. Okay, everyone, thank you again for joining us and thank you for all the wonderful things you're doing and sharing. Doing business in Bentonville, we just completed our 100th podcast and we celebrated that and we're excited, and we just happen now to be in over 100 countries with viewers. So thank you for that. We appreciate you everyone. Thank you, have a wonderful day everyone.