Retail

Harps Food Stores has record revenue year amid COVID challenges

Harps Food Stores Inc. has plenty to celebrate in its 91st year of business. The Springdale-based company has come a long way since founders Floy and Harvard Harp opened the…

Walmart to expand college program with $1 billion investment

Walmart is ending the price of its $1 per-day college benefit for approximately 1.5 million U.S. employees and is instead making a $1 billion investment over the next five years…

Stribling develops strategy to meet omnichannel demands

In the wake of Stribling Inc.’s decision to sell off its real estate assets in Rogers, two of the logistics and supply chain company’s top principals say there are no…

Used vehicle values, sales moderate after ‘frenzied buying’

An economist said the used vehicle market might have reached the end of the recent buying frenzy as prices appreciated to record levels. Used vehicle prices started to fall in…

WhyteSpyder acquires agency founded by former Walmart merchants

Rogers-based SKU Ninja + WhyteSpyder, an e-commerce software and digital merchandising company, is expanding with the acquisition of DotCom Partners. Former Walmart e-commerce merchants founded the agency in 2020 to provide…

The Supply Side: CPG companies lag in connecting online, traditional shopping

The consumer packaged goods segment lags Walmart and Amazon in the shift to omnichannel transformation. A report from the Food Institute and Data Impact said many market watchers believed an…

Walmart, Etsy, Chewy among fastest growing U.S online retailers

According to analysts who cover the sector, the COVID-19 pandemic did help some retailers speed up their online market share growth as much as three years ahead of schedule. A…

Retail sales rebound in June

Retail sales across the U.S. rebounded in June. Demand remains strong despite shifting away from goods to services and travel and declining automobile sales. The Department of Commerce reported Friday…

Car-Mart executives earn 30% raises; total compensation falls

Jeff Williams, president and CEO of Rogers-based America’s Car-Mart, received a 30.9% raise in 2021, while total compensation declined 83.8% to $797,506, from $4.92 million in 2020, according to the…

Bentonville packaging company Rapid rebrands, expands to Tontitown

Bentonville-based corrugated packaging company Rapid recently rebranded from Rapid Prototypes and moved into a 14,000-square-foot warehouse in Tontitown. Including the existing 25,000-square-foot facility on Walton Boulevard in Bentonville, the company’s…

Walmart to expand partnership with Symbotic for supply chain efficiency

Walmart said Wednesday (July 14) it plans to place Symbotic robotic technology in 25 of its 42 regional distribution centers (RDC’s). The retail giant did not disclose the cost but…

Retailers and suppliers work to manage inflation; prices up as much as 9%

The Federal Reserve estimated consumer prices will jump 3.4% in the fourth quarter compared to last year. Retail food and consumable prices are up between 8% and 9% compared with…

Walmart helps Flipkart raise $3.6 billion in new funding

The Flipkart Group, the Indian retailer partially owned by Walmart, raised $3.6 billion (U.S.) in new funding as it seeks to grow an e-commerce ecosystem in India. Lead investors include…

Cocoa Belle Chocolates makes inroads in new markets during pandemic

Arkansas is known for its abundance of farmers, truckers, bankers, and retailers, but the Natural State isn’t exactly renowned for its contributions to the world of chocolatiers. There is a…

The Supply Side: Retailers make progress on recovery amid healthier than expected spending

U.S. discretionary spending on general merchandise continues to be healthier than expected. Dollar sales for the week ending June 12 rose 15% over the same period two years ago, continuing…

Walmart names American Express exec to head up Walmart+

Chris Cracchiolo, a 19-year veteran executive from American Express, will take over leadership of the Walmart+ membership program effective July 12. He will replace David Echegoyen, who is departing the…

Bentonville startup STX Business Solutions makes successful exit

STX Business Solutions, a data management company in Bentonville, has been acquired by Florida-based Financial Information Technologies, LLC (Fintech). According to a news release, STX employees will continue day-to-day operations “as the partnership…