The Doing Business in Bentonville Podcast

Doing Business in Bentonville
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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.

  1. 7H AGO

    Ep. 140 - Retail Survival 2026: Why Mid-Tier Brands are Faltering

    Retail is sprinting into 2026, and the finish line keeps moving. We sit down with Deanah Baker and Scott Benedict to chart where the next big shifts will land: AI that actually clears friction, merchants who think across channels, and retailers racing to align speed, execution, and value. If you’ve felt the workload double since omnichannel merged teams, you’ll hear why the answer isn’t more hours, it’s smarter tools, cleaner data, and leaders who model new ways of working. We dig into Amazon’s bold supercenter test in Orland Park and what it signals after years of smaller bets. Is this the long-awaited counterpunch to Walmart’s supercenter dominance? On the specialty side, mid-tier apparel faces a tough truth: financial strain delays tech adoption, even as RFID, sharper attribution, and faster cycles become survival gear. Target, once the gold standard for store discipline, needs to rebuild basics, on-shelf availability and execution, before the brand can shine again. Kroger’s at a crossroads with strong private brands but dented price trust and uneven service investments, while regionals press the pace. Then there’s Aldi, expanding aggressively by doubling down on its limited-SKU, private-brand engine. The model travels, but only if logistics and inventory turns stay razor-sharp, because out-of-stocks in a narrow assortment break trips fast. Meanwhile, club formats; Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s, prove that curated value and omnichannel convenience can grow together. Private labels, upgraded specs, and low-friction tech keep engagement high. Walmart’s AI partnerships (including Gemini) point to a practical strategy: learn broadly, act quickly, and keep customer search and discovery seamless. The goal isn’t just smarter results, it’s shortening the path from insight to shelf, syncing merchants, suppliers, and supply chains. The real moat is culture: curiosity, art-meets-science judgment, and global awareness that great ideas can start anywhere. If you lead in retail or sell into it, this conversation will sharpen your playbook for the next 24 months. Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway, what shift are you betting on?

    36 min

  2. FEB 17

    Ep. 139 - 2026 Retail Trends: Adapt or Fall Behind with Scott Benedict and Deanah Baker

    Blink and the shopper has already moved on. We sat down with fellow DBB hosts Deanah Baker and Scott Benedict to map the retail shifts that will define 2026, where AI turns shopping into solution-finding, value stretches beyond price, and health becomes the default filter for every aisle. We start with the pace of change and why being late to a behavior shift is costly. Consumers are already using AI tools and shopping agents to assemble entire solutions: meals tailored to nutrition goals, outfits for specific events, or home projects within a budget. Scott breaks down how agentic commerce weighs price, speed, stock, reviews, and delivery windows with zero emotion, forcing brands and retailers to upgrade product detail pages, data quality, and last-mile execution. Deanah zooms in on the merchant’s craft, showing how AI can take on the heavy lifting, forecasting, enrichment, and routine analysis, so teams can focus on curation, brand DNA, and staying close to the customer. Then we tackle value in a tougher economy. Private brands aren’t filler; they’re strategic engines that signal quality and put pressure on national brands to justify gaps. We explore how value shows up as speed, reliability, and breadth of choice, not just low prices, and why shoppers now mix luxury and private label within the same trip. Finally, we dig into the rise of health and wellness, from “food as medicine” to smarter labels and educational product pages that help customers compare protein, sugar, and sodium at a glance. Wellness now touches pantry, apparel, and home, and it’s powered by trusted content plus fast, predictable fulfillment. If you lead merchandising, marketing, supply chain, or brand, this conversation offers a practical map: build agent-ready content, design true private brands, redefine value, and train teams to move with speed. Part two goes deeper by retailer: Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Aldi, and what these trends mean for each. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and tell us: which shift will you tackle first?

    32 min

  3. FEB 10

    Ep. 138 - Winning Retail Media with AI | DBB Event Recap

    Shoppers don’t think in channels, they remember how your last interaction made them feel. We sit down with leaders from Google, Hershey, AdFury, and HashKu to show how AI can meet that rising bar by turning messy data into crisp experiences across search, store, service, and even gaming. The throughline is clear: when your brand story is structured and accessible, agentic systems can personalize creative, refresh copy before fatigue sets in, and keep a consistent message from Walmart Connect to Amazon to social and beyond. We dig into what “good” looks like behind the scenes: consolidating product data, enriching PDPs, and using models to compress planning cycles from weeks to days. AdFury explains how agent networks generate platform‑specific assets that stay on‑brand while adapting to audience context. HashCube opens the door to gaming as a retail channel, where co‑playing families and 13+ environments offer brand‑safe ways to build affinity, think seasonal moments like Halloween in Roblox, where virtual wearables connect with real‑world baskets. Hershey’s perspective underscores the power of heritage storytelling, especially when expanding to global markets without built‑in nostalgia. We also get practical about getting started. Use consumer tools to build prompting skills, then move into enterprise setups to protect corporate data. Ask for sources, push for specificity, and treat AI as a magnifier that clears low‑value tasks so teams can focus on strategy and relationships. If you’re aiming for results in the next 90 days, define your narrative, clean your data, pilot agentic creative in one channel, and expand what works.  Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help more brand leaders find the show.

    37 min

  4. FEB 3

    Ep. 137 - This Program Helps Arkansas Entrepreneurs Scale

    Retail is hungry for fresh products, but getting from a beloved local item to a national shelf spot is a steep climb. We sit down with the University of Arkansas Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the team at Act Two to unveil the Ozark Retail Accelerator, an Arkansas-backed program built to help consumer packaged goods founders cross the retail chasm without wasting years on preventable mistakes. If you’ve sold at farmers markets or independents and you’re eyeing Walmart, Sam’s Club, or Kroger, this is your roadmap. We break down who qualifies and why the accelerator focuses on Arkansas-based or Arkansas-committed brands, then dig into the nuts and bolts of scale. Expect straight talk on packaging that really wins the aisle, channel-specific pricing and pack sizes, trade math, and working capital planning for your first big PO. We map out what buyers want to hear, how to craft a compelling pitch, and the realities of mod change calendars that can stretch six to eighteen months. From copacker readiness to reformulation with a food scientist, the conversation centers on making your product manufacturable, compliant, and margin-positive across club, mass, and grocery. The cohort opens with an in-person kickoff in Bentonville at the end of March, followed by twelve weeks of targeted virtual sessions and a June demo day. Supported by AEDC funding, there’s no equity taken and costs are minimal, so founders can focus on execution, not dilution. With mentors and partners from OEI, Act Two, and the Bentonville Chamber, you’ll learn from operators who’ve placed real products in real aisles and navigated scale the hard way. If you’re ready to turn local traction into sustainable growth, apply at OzarkRetailAccelerator.com before February 15.  Subscribe, share with a founder who needs this, and leave a review to help more Arkansas makers find their path.

    21 min

  5. JAN 27

    Ep. 136 - 2025 Recap: Fear, Failure, and Forward Motion

    What happens when a community decides to solve retail’s toughest problems together? From the floor of the Shewmaker Center, we sit down with logistics pros, educators, product builders, and Walmart leaders to map the real pathways into CPG, the mechanics that move goods to shelves, and the leadership habits that turn pressure into progress. It’s a rare look at how Bentonville’s engine, NWACC’s CRA program, supplier partnerships, and a data‑rich culture, keeps producing talent and ideas at scale. We start with the nuts and bolts: how 3PLs use Walmart pool programs to cut time and cost, why a warehouse picking upgrade lifted efficiency by 40 percent, and how a career pivot from school psychology to retail analytics became possible with flexible, online training. That origin story reaches back to the late ’90s, when Walmart and suppliers faced a severe analytics shortage and built a solution: teach the tools, open access to data, and co‑design curriculum that matches real jobs. The result is a repeatable on‑ramp that gets people hired and productive fast. Then we press into strategy. Merchandising veterans challenge the idea of skipping store mods in favor of digital tweaks. Newness on the floor still drives discovery, traffic, and price leverage at scale, while e‑commerce amplifies content and choice. We share examples of taking five ideas from whiteboard to Walmart shelves in a year, proving speed and purpose can coexist. Alongside that, AI shows up as a practical copilot, drafting, checking blind spots, laying out step‑by‑step processes, while Walmart invests in associate AI certificates to upskill the workforce. Suppliers must come along, just like they did with retail link. Leadership ties it together with clear, human guidance: face fear, normalize failure, and go see for yourself. We unpack genchi genbutsu, staying close to teams, and the black‑belt mindset that blends discipline with continuous testing. In dry grocery, that looks like democratizing clean‑label choices with sharp pricing, smart pack sizes, and great taste. And when time is tight, a simple two‑by‑two helps teams focus on the highest‑value actions and accept the rest. If you care about breaking into retail, scaling smarter, or leading people through fast change, this conversation will meet you where you work. Follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review telling us which insight you’ll put to work first.

    30 min

  6. JAN 20

    Ep. 135 - Weaponizing Supply Chains to Crush Competition

    What if your supply chain could both thrill customers and quietly kneecap competitors? We sit down with Rod Thomas, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management and former retail operator, to unpack how logistics design becomes a decisive competitive weapon. The conversation moves beyond cost cuts and into bold moves that reset expectations, accelerate growth, and force rivals into bad choices. We start with a standout story: Lowe’s reengineers distribution centers to handle major appliances and flips from shared direct-to-store shipments to daily flow. The result is higher in-stock, faster turns, and a strategic squeeze on Home Depot, which must either ship air or accept slower replenishment. From there, we explore Delta insourcing aircraft maintenance to regain scale and service, Shein compressing lead times with small-batch agility, and Amazon setting the bar on two-day delivery and effortless returns, proof that service, speed, and certainty are the new product. The strategy extends upstream. Tesla’s early bets on batteries and minerals and Apple’s ownership of critical components show how locking constrained inputs stabilizes your business and destabilizes others. Then we dig into owning the demand signal with connected devices, subscriptions, and loyalty apps. When printers reorder ink or tractors schedule parts before failure, customers never feel a pinch point and competitors never see the demand. You’ll walk away with a clear playbook: escape shared-resource traps, raise service bars competitors can’t match, secure capacity where it’s scarce, and build direct data loops that predict need. Do it ethically and deliberately, and you’ll deliver better for customers while quietly reshaping the field.  If this conversation helps sharpen your strategy, follow, share with your team, and leave a quick review, what supply chain move are you planning next?

    38 min

  7. JAN 13

    Ep. 134 - Don’t Let Your Business Die with You

    Too many great local businesses fade not from lack of customers, but from lack of a plan. We sat down with Doug and Anne, buyer-operators on a mission to preserve the heart of their community by acquiring small businesses. We explored how owners can exit on their terms without losing what makes their company special. We start with the landscape: thousands of boomer-owned companies in Northwest Arkansas and beyond are nearing transition, yet most don’t have a documented succession plan. Doug and Anne break down the gap between intention and reality: 70% of owners want to pass the business to their kids, but only about 30% make it happen, and show how a thoughtful three-year runway changes everything. From choosing the path (family succession, management buyout, or third-party sale) to assembling the right local team for valuation, lending, legal, and tax, they map a clear, humane process that protects jobs and community identity. Then we get practical. They explain how tax strategies that minimize profit today can depress a future sale price, why keeping your manager is critical to continuity, and how simple adjustments, cleaner books, documented SOPs, fair market leases, and stable leadership, raise multiples and buyer confidence. We also talk about culture and leadership development: growing managers who can run the day-to-day, reducing key-person risk, and honoring the brand promise customers rely on. Anne shares why championing women-owned businesses matters, and how inclusive ownership structures and mentorship can widen opportunity and strengthen resilience. If you’re a small business owner eyeing retirement, feeling burnout, or simply wanting to protect your legacy, this conversation offers an actionable roadmap and real encouragement.  Subscribe for more conversations with operators, founders, and community builders, and share this episode with an owner who needs a nudge to start their plan. Want us to dive deeper or help you think through options? Leave a review, send a note, and tell us what transition questions you want answered next.

    28 min

  8. JAN 6

    Ep. 133 - Trust, Data, and the AI Shelf War

    The retail playbook just changed: shoppers still click and scan, but AI agents now browse, compare, and buy on our behalf. We brought together leaders from academia, CPG, platforms, and agencies to break down what that means for brands selling at Walmart and across the modern digital shelf. The big takeaway is simple and hard: trust wins. Trust between people and machines, and trust between models and your product data. Clean attributes, consistent claims, and verifiable signals across PDPs, retail media, and third-party sources are now the difference between being recommended, or ignored. We dive into the “perpetual moment of truth,” where inspiration, evaluation, and purchase collapse into one seamless flow. You’ll hear how bot-facing content, bullets, tables, certifications, and structured data, helps AI reason and cite your products. We explore generative engine optimization (GEO) versus traditional SEO, why Content Quality Scores keep shifting, and why Walmart’s new item setup will demand complete attribution at creation. Expect concrete tactics: set up agents to monitor rankings and data health daily; build a shared prompt library; reverse-engineer great answers; and run A/B tests that balance keyword search with conversational queries. New modalities are already here: AI-enabled browsers, vision-plus-voice experiences, and wearable interfaces that parse shelves in real time. That makes consistency across packaging, imagery, and PDP claims critical, especially for safety and dietary needs. Our panel keeps it practical; scope one category, perfect attributes, verify claims, and let auditing agents alert you to drift. Move fast without breaking trust, and treat conversation as the new code your whole team can write.  If this helped you think clearer about AI in retail, subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review to help others find the show.

    1h 4m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

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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.

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