Walmart Home Office Expansion

Northwest Arkansas is home to Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue — but you wouldn’t know it by driving past its current corporate headquarters in Bentonville. That’s about to change. What’s happening: The company is building a new 350-acre campus-of-the-future for approximately 15,000 employees who work at HQ — a project it hopes will help attract and retain top-level talent, said Cindi Marsiglio, Walmart’s senior vice president for corporate real estate. Why it matters: Offering modern, comfortable workspaces with plenty of amenities may help companies in their quest to entice workers back to their offices in the post-pandemic era. Zoom in: The new campus, just a few miles from the old one, will include several office buildings and parking decks, as well as a hotel, a child care center, a fitness center, outdoor spaces, restaurants and stores (see a map here).

• The child care center will be open only to corporate employees, but the fitness center will be available to all Walmart workers, including retail.
• The campus, including the stores and restaurants, will be open to the public.

A rendering of Walmart’s new campus. Image courtesy of Walmart The overarching idea is to simplify living and working by boosting walkability and bike-ability, with easier access to food, exercise, fresh air and child care. The company aims to incorporate natural light and nature into the buildings and campus more broadly. • The Razorback Greenway, a 37-mile walking and biking trail, runs right through the area. What they’re saying: “In today’s workplace and continuing forward, those amenities matter. They speak to how employers are investing in our associates and our families,” Marsiglio said. Zoom out: Ultra-modern and expensive headquarters have long been a source of corporate pride for many companies, with firms like Apple and Amazon building or planning sprawling, futuristic complexes in recent years.

• Walmart’s existing 1970s-era headquarters are comparatively dated and dull — notably lacking in windows, for instance.