UA hub on retail getting a revamp

Center’s leaders: Industry shifting

Kyle Reeves of Searcy, a freshman at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, assembles a shopping cart robot at the McMillon Innovation Studio at the school’s Walton College of Business.
Kyle Reeves of Searcy, a freshman at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, assembles a shopping cart robot at the McMillon Innovation Studio at the school’s Walton College of Business.

The University of Arkansas' Center for Retailing Excellence -- established as part of the Walton College of Business about 15 years ago -- is being reimagined.

When the Walton family announced a $50 million gift to the university's business school in 1998, part of the funds were used to create a retail-specific center that would serve as a way to connect students and faculty with companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The center has since been successful in its mission to help prepare students for retail and retail-related industries. But as the retail landscape changes at a rapid rate because of technology and innovation, the college's leaders and about 70 member companies have decided it's time to rethink the center's role.

"We didn't think what got us to where we are as a center today will get us where we need to be in the future," said Charles Redfield, a Wal-Mart executive and the center's board chairman. "So we've started making some changes."

The center kicked off its overhaul Nov. 1, when representatives from member companies such as Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Unilever, General Mills and PepsiCo gathered with Walton College of Business leaders to examine past practices and share new ideas for the future.

About 75 people were in attendance, and Walton College of Business Dean Matthew Waller said there "were no sacred cows" during discussions as the group began to lay out its new blueprint. Betsy Reithemeyer, the center's new director, stressed that administrators are not planning a complete demolition and rebuild, because the core of the center remains strong.

"There's a solid foundation of about 70 companies that have been committed to this organization and the Walton College for a number of years," Reithemeyer said. "So it's not by any means a start over. It's building on a solid foundation of people who have already said, 'Hey, I'm willing to commit my time and talent to advancing this.'"

Over the years, the center has been an outlet for students to engage and interact with businesses. One of its most prominent events is an annual retail conference held in Northwest Arkansas, which attracts speakers and presenters from businesses across the country to discuss retail-related topics.

Through the center, students also have had networking, mentoring and internship opportunities. Faculty have been able to use members of the center as a resource -- as guest speakers or real-world examples for research or projects.

The benefits are clear for all sides: Students have opportunities to make connections and become better prepared for post-college careers. Better-prepared students have been vital for retailers searching for employees.

Those goals remain, but Waller said he believes that there is an opportunity to "add more value" with a redefined center.

"Retail looked very different 16 years ago," Waller said. "As the world of retail changed, we really needed to continue to provide our students with the opportunity to learn business education and knowledge that they were getting in the Walton College with real-world application."

He said it was easier to dive into changes with new leadership in key positions across the college.

Waller was named dean in April. He also promoted Brent Williams, a supply chain professor, to the newly created role of associate dean for executive education and outreach to oversee the center.

Claudia Mobley, the center's founder and longtime director, retired in June. Reithemeyer, who is the senior vice president of communications and media at Bentonville-based 8th and Walton, has led the overhaul as new director.

Reithemeyer isn't leaving her full-time position at 8th and Walton but is committed to leading the center. The company has worked out an agreement with the university that will allow her to remain in both positions.

"It's an exciting project to be in right now because retail has changed so drastically over the last 16 years and, I could argue, over the last 16 months, sometimes even the last 16 days," Reithemeyer said.

It's too early to define exactly what the center will look like when the discussions end, according to Reithemeyer and other leaders, but the first meeting showed there is plenty of interest and ideas from member companies.

Redfield said he believes that one of the primary takeaways was that the center needed to become more of an integral part of the business school by becoming more aligned with its mission.

The revised center will include a renewed effort to engage and develop students for post-college careers, according to Waller. While the center has always made such an effort, he said the it now intends to "take it to a new level."

There will be an added focus on technology and innovation, as well. The McMillon Innovation Studio, which is part of the Center For Retailing Excellence, was established last year as part of a $1 million gift from Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon.

There also have been discussions about expanding the center's membership base to include different companies. For now, members primarily consist of retail or retail-related companies. But the center hopes to broaden its base to include financial agencies, e-commerce businesses and small businesses to cover all aspects of commerce.

"If you really think about retail, it's really commerce," Waller said. "The lines are being blurred in the channels of distribution, so I feel like our center really needs to reflect that. In the past, the [center] primarily embraced very large businesses. In the future, we want to have more variety."

While there is no specific timetable for finalizing the new blueprint, Redfield said the center expects to "move with speed and create change quickly." He said groups have continued working on plans for the center since the Nov. 1 meeting and will present them at the next meeting on Jan. 24.

"We're keeping the students right at the forefront of how we're approaching this," Redfield said. "That will help the university. It will help the members of the center and make us all better. So we think we can add a lot of value there."

SundayMonday Business on 12/11/2016

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