Walmart to Build New HQ

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will construct a brand-new headquarters building on J Street in its hometown of Bentonville, Ark., President and CEO Doug McMillon wrote in an online message to associates.

Noting that the mega-retailer’s current home office, located at the corner of S.W. 8th Street and Walton Boulevard since 1971, was part of a “patchwork of more than 20 buildings in northwest Arkansas,” McMillon wrote: “Many of these facilities, including the current home office, are significantly beyond their shelf life. They are expensive and inefficient to maintain, costing millions of dollars of accelerating upkeep every year. And because they are so dispersed, they literally encourage us to work in silos and cause us to waste time and energy traveling between locations, many of which have inadequate parking options.”

Expected to take five to seven years to build, the new facility will provide “a central campus with accommodations for a more digitally native workforce and space that encourages greater collaboration and speed,” McMillon said. “You’ll see improved parking, meal services, fitness and natural light – yes, natural light. Plus the campus will be integrated into the community trail system, for easy walking and cycling access. The combined changes will help us get the most out of our existing team, while helping us attract high-quality talent in the future.”

McMillon further pledged that “the project will be true to our roots, supporting a culture of servant leadership, which puts customers and associates first, and maintaining our commitment to fiscal and environmental responsibility.” The company has already begun “the process of working with city and state officials, as well as other stakeholders, to move the project forward.”

As yet, however, he noted, “There’s still a tremendous amount of planning, design and coordination to be done, and the property must be readied before we even begin construction.”