Sam’s Club unveils new design studio on its corporate campus

Innovation is crucial in retail and Sam’s Club knows it. The Bentonville-based wholesale club has unveiled its retail design studio dubbed the “Clubhouse” on its corporate campus at 2100 Simple Savings Drive across the street from the Sam’s Club home office.

The studio is a 37,000-square-foot design workshop that cost an estimated $8.337 million to build according to building permits issued by the city last year.

“Clubhouse will strengthen our commitment to being a product-led organization and democratize innovation,” said Todd Garner, chief product officer of Sam’s Club. “ This new design studio will not only enable us to provide innovative solutions for our members and associates but also help propel us forward as the incubator for enterprise-wide innovation.”

The idea factory was first announced in September 2022, with Crossland Construction as the lead builder and Nielsen Architecture of Bentonville also working on the project. The interior designer was Atlanta-based Taylor Workshop.

The workspace provides room for physical product and hardware testing. The company said it will serve as an innovation hub where employees can pitch ideas, test products and develop solutions for the retailer. Katelynn Gorton, a corporate spokesperson, said Sam’s Club hired a combination of internal and external associates with design thinking and design studio management experience. She said five employees will be based in the new facility.

“Sam Walton said it best over 35 years ago, Sam’s Club is an experiment. Today, Sam’s Club is a leader in digital retail transformation. We are called the ‘innovation engine’ for our Walmart enterprise. Through innovation, iteration, and failing fast Sam’s has staked its claim as a disruptive retailer – with a member-obsessed vision,” the company noted.

Sam’s Club said the need for a design studio emerged in recent years as the retail industry focused on endless aisles and omni-commerce. The retailer said when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sam’s Club was ready with innovations like scan & go, curbside pickup and ship-from-club delivery options for members. The retailer said to meet the increased omni-demand the company has to evolve the way it delivers product, design and service. The engineering, product management and design teams are responsible for the entire supply chain experience. Sam’s Club said it values design thinking.

“To support end-to-end problem-solving and enable cross-functional teams to collaborate, we need a structured process to anchor on to,” the memo stated.

Sam’s said it invested in a design studio to bring design thinking to the forefront of the enterprise, to democratize innovation and to integrate physical and digital design.