The Huddle with John Furner

We’ve had a blast in Houston at Walmart U.S.’s Annual Holiday Meeting! Every year, we bring our teams together from across the country to get everyone geared up for an amazing holiday season – showcasing all the great deals and holiday items we know our customers will love. In this episode of The Huddle, Brittany Smith – VP of Merchandising for our U.S. toy business – joined me on the merch floor...

This week we’ve been celebrating America’s 247th birthday! Our Walmart U.S. team is honored to serve this great country, and one of the most impactful ways we do that is selling products that come from this country. We’re proud that about 2/3rds of our product spend is on items made, grown or assembled in the U.S.  For this Huddle episode, I visited an Arkansas rice farm with one of our merchants,...

At Walmart, our people have always driven our success. When I think of associates who are making the difference each day, I think of Marcie Bird. You may remember seeing Marcie on stage at Associates Week, where she shared her story about breaking barriers as the first Navajo Store Manager of Supercenter #906 in Gallup, NM.     I had the privilege of having Marcie join me for an episode of The Hud...

Memorial Day is a day is a day of deep meaning, as we reflect on the immense sacrifices that have been made to protect the freedoms we have today. My father was a Marine and Vietnam veteran, and he instilled in me a profound appreciation for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In this episode of The Huddle, I’m joined by two incredible associates who exemplify the spirit of service and commitme...

It’s graduation season – and I know so many of us are thinking of the graduating students we know, and the sense of accomplishment, excitement, and nervousness they’re feeling right now.  Every May, I think back to MY time as a student at the University of Arkansas. I’ll never forget sitting in the back row of Dr. Jon Johnson's Business Strategy class, ­soaking up the knowledge and insights he had...

Someone once told me “your leadership is defined during the toughest times.” No one exemplifies that more than Alycia Mixon, the manager of Store #1841 in Chesapeake, VA. I met Alycia last November, under the most difficult circumstances imaginable – after losing 6 members of the Walmart family. Alycia’s first instinct was to step up for her people in a way that few others could. When I first saw...

No matter where our associates are in life when they join Walmart, there are so many opportunities to grow and develop a career – and we are committed to investing in our people to help make their dreams a reality. Carvon Smith’s story is an amazing example of this. Carvon started working at Walmart in 2015, taking a part-time role in maintenance while he was in school. He soon took on a bigger ro...

HOW we do business matters, and we’re dedicated to doing it the right way. That’s why integrity is one of our core values at Walmart, and it’s essential to our culture. Our associates, customers, investors, suppliers, and business partners choose Walmart because they know we are a business they can trust.  In this special edition of The Huddle, I talk with Walmart’s Global Ethics Officer, Jelahn S...

We’re coming to you live from Orlando, Florida, where thousands of associates from all over the country are attending our Walmart U.S. Year Beginning Meeting! This year’s theme is “Turn it Up!,” and nobody is bringing that energy better than our new EVP for Store Operations, Cedric Clark. Cedric is competitive and loves to win – he’s a former athlete. He’s also a musician, creative, and curious gu...

Every quarter, we get the opportunity to share our earnings results. I’m really proud we’ve seen historically unprecedented growth since this decade began – from our sales comps to our eCommerce business to operating income.   As we think about earnings, it's important to me we not only share the results but also help people understand what “earnings” means. That’s why I am so excited for our newe...

We’re kicking off Season 4 of The Huddle in a BIG way. This first episode was filmed in front of an in-person audience at the National Retail Federation’s NRF 2023 conference – known as “Retail’s Big Show.” I’m proud to chair the NRF’s Board of Directors, and I was thrilled to introduce the audience to a big-time guest: Dr. James Cash. I’ve known Dr. Cash for many years, and I am so inspired by hi...

The holidays are a time of special moments and memories, and food plays a huge part. We treasure those delicious Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with our favorite dishes and family traditions.   For the Season 3 finale of the Huddle, I talked to John Laney, who runs Walmart’s U.S. food business. John talked about some of his favorite items, and how HIS family does holiday meals for their family o...

On Veterans Day, we should all stop and think about the people who’ve served. We’re so grateful for everything they’ve done, to allow us to live in safety and freedom.  On this episode of the Huddle, I was honored to speak with Chris Aragon - an incredible Veteran with a heart for service. Chris recently retired from the Marine Corps after a 30-year career, and was thinking of the next chapter for...

Tyler Balsman started with Walmart as a People Greeter when he was 16, working his way to Store Manager in a community we’ve been in for a long time – Store 242 in Paola, Kansas. Four years ago, Tyler was excited to add another title to his resume: Kari’s Dad. Tyler and his wife Danielle used Walmart’s adoption benefit when they became the parents of their beautiful baby girl. Tyler joined me on t...

Tammie Jo Shults was one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots. She later became a Southwest pilot, and in April 2018 she was piloting a flight from New York City to Dallas that experienced a sudden engine failure. The plane was down an engine, and the explosion broke a window – causing the cabin to quickly depressurize. Tammie Jo stayed calm, immediately rerouted the plane, landed in Phi...

Our private fleet drivers are the best-of-the-best. They safely drive millions of miles on the roads, keeping our entire business going. We’re also proud to offer one of the best driving jobs out there! A new driver can now earn up to $110,000 in their first year with us, and we recently launched the Private Fleet Development Program which pays for Walmart associates to earn their commercial licen...

It was so cool having Jay Leno join The Huddle. He’s a famous comedian, television host, writer, and supplier for Walmart! They were in Michigan for the Woodward Dream Cruise which is North America’s largest celebration of automotive culture - and, of course, Mr. Sam’s truck made an appearance. Jay is passionate about cars and started his own line of car care products called “Jay Leno’s Garage” ab...

It’s been such a great week in Denver, CO, connecting with our teams at the Walmart U.S. Holiday Meeting! Getting to talk items, prepare for the upcoming season, and spend time with associates in person is always energizing - especially when they’re as passionate as Leidy Diaz. Leidy is the Store Manager at 2090 in Franklin, NJ. She moved to America from Colombia at 19 years old, has been with the...

Kellie Romack joined me on The Huddle from a store in Dallas, TX! She spends a lot of time in the field as SVP of Associate and Retail Product Experience. When we talk about "product" in the experience space, we’re talking about mobile apps our frontline associates use on a daily basis. Kellie and her team design and build these apps to simplify the work for our associates, save them time, and hel...

Ken Chenault is someone I really admire. He was a very successful and respected CEO of American Express, and today he’s the Chairman and Managing Director of General Catalyst. He’s also the co-founder of OneTen, whose mission is to upskill, hire and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. It was an honor to talk to...

Olé Mexican Foods is one of our incredible suppliers – and a truly inspirational American success story. Veronica Moreno started the company in her home with just one tortilla machine, and today she employs hundreds of people across several communities. I recently had the pleasure of touring Olé’s Texas facilities and talking with Veronica and her son Edgar about the Olé story, and how they’re con...

We want to help save people money so they can live better - that’s what we’re here for. It was great having Seth Dallaire, Walmart U.S. Chief Revenue Officer, join John Furner on The Huddle to talk about our first-quarter earnings results. He’s been with the company for six months now and has been focused on asking questions to learn how to better serve our customers and members across the country...

A business can’t successfully serve its customers and members without the work of everyone on the team. Steven Williams, CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America, recently joined The Huddle with John Furner to talk about that principle, and the importance of focusing on frontline associates. Listen to this new episode to learn how both companies work together on big topics like racial justice, equity an...

It was great spending time at the new Moosejaw store in Bentonville with CEO Eoin Comerford. Moosejaw is an outdoor retailer in the Walmart family of brands that helps people from all walks of life discover the outdoors: first-time cyclists, campers, hikers, runners - anyone and everyone wanting to explore. Listen to this new episode of the Huddle to hear how product trends and categories have cha...

The first thing Erin Middleton did after learning FC 4085 won Fulfillment Center of the Year was give credit to her team. Erin has grown with the company into her current position of General Manager at the Davenport, FL, facility and is an extraordinary example of leadership. She recognizes the significant roles we all play in making a difference for our customers every day. John Furner was gratef...