Ivy Liu
Welcome to Between the Lines, a periodic feature for Modern Retail+ subscribers where our editorial staff opens up their reporters’ notebooks to give you insider analysis and context on what’s driving the hottest discussions in retail right now.
Walmart is on a mission to prove that it has the latest, greatest and trendiest assortment, and that it can get it to you faster than anyone else.
Last week, I flew down to the retailer’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas for its annual Associates Week and shareholder meeting. For Associates Week, Walmart brings in thousands of employees from around the world for festivities — it typically brings in celebrities for the occasion, with Benson Boone performing a concert this year.
However, Associates Week is also a chance for Walmart to sell shareholders, Wall Street analysts and the media on its strategy, and to give them a closer under-the-hood look at new initiatives in the works.
