Retail Talent, Resources Beginning to Gather in NWA (OPINION)

In August 2012, we at Selling to the Masses published an article titled “The Boom Ahead — Why Northwest Arkansas Could Be the Next Silicon Valley,” and made several comparisons between our local region and the 1950s, post-war San Francisco Bay area.

Our assessment was based on a belief that Northwest Arkansas was gradually changing its identity. The area has become known as a hub for all manner of retailing innovation and experimentation and is producing real breakthroughs in the areas of shopper marketing, supply-chain management, e-commerce and product development — to name a few.

In the 2012 piece, we challenged the business community, especially those who provide services, support or expertise to local retailers and suppliers, to begin positioning themselves differently in order to capitalize on this shift.

For years now, especially since the mid-‘90s, high-performing managers from many of the country’s largest consumer-product companies have been sent to Northwest Arkansas to look after an important client — the world’s largest retailer.

But, as that talent made its way to the region, after finishing assignments in other retailing hubs such as Cincinnati (home of Kroger), Minneapolis (home of Target and Best Buy), Pleasanton, California, (home of Safeway) and Atlanta (home of Home Depot), a couple of interesting things happened.  

First, managers (and their families) who accepted short-term assignments fell in love with the region and decided to make it their home, resisting subsequent assignments and often joining other supplier teams just to stay in the area.

Also, local teams began to manage the business of multiple retailers, not just Walmart.

The aggregation of people who possess an expertise in taking consumer products to market is greater in Northwest Arkansas than in any other place in the world.  People are beginning to share our conviction that the region is on the front side of a second breakout, where early-stage, consumer-product companies (and specialized-service providers) are coming to the region in search of inspiration, talent, contacts and capital — much like tech startups go to the San Francisco Bay area.

Early in 2014, we assembled a world-class team of researchers, writers, producers and mentors from the area’s immense talent pool to explore ways to support these upstarts.

Our first endeavor was “CPG School” on Nov. 19 in Rogers. The event brought together dozens of founders of early-stage, consumer-product companies from all over the country to learn from some of our area’s best and brightest in every facet of the industry.

We’ve gotten to know a number of the attendees and their teams, who returned to Benton County a few weeks later for in-depth meetings we set up with brokers, package designers, licensing partners, social-media experts, brand consultants and more.  

The teams left overwhelmed by all they had learned and in complete shock they hadn’t discovered the area sooner.

And it’s only the beginning.

For those of us who offer support to the five locally based retailers and the almost 1,400 supplier teams with a presence in the area, it is an exciting time to live and work in Northwest Arkansas. It has become clear that, as in Silicon Valley during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, success will follow those who can see beyond the world that was and embrace the leaders of upstarts who are looking to us and our community for its many resources.

Ready or not, here they come. 

Matt Fifer is the founder and CEO of Bentonville-based Selling to the Masses, an organization that helps early-stage, consumer-product companies get and stay on the shelves of the country’s top retailers. He can be reached at [email protected].