Retail Research Center to Host Student Business Competition

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Center for Retailing Excellence is hosting the fourth annual American Collegiate Retailing Association Charrette on March 8-13 on the University of Arkansas campus.

“A charrette is a real-world business competition,” said Claudia Mobley, director of the Center for Retailing Excellence. “We are very honored that the American Collegiate Retailing Association has asked us to host this national competition for university students — here at the Walton College. We have 42 students from around the country participating.”

The event will be held at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

In the competition or charrette, participants from different schools make up a team and work together in a limited time frame to reach a resolution for a challenge presented by a client. The teams will be composed of students with skills in diverse disciplines, such as retail, interior design, merchandising, marketing, finance and communications.

This provides students with opportunities to express their creativity; apply learned skills and knowledge to transfer ideas into actionable plans; work on real business/design issues with industry experts; and experience the value of teamwork in multidisciplines.

The complexity of the project takes the students out of their comfort zone and challenges their cohesive team-building skills. The charrette is an excellent tool to develop communication and collaboration skills and prepare them for the real business world.

“This is a unique opportunity to experience the business world by working with team players from different expertise and cultural backgrounds to address the assigned challenge,” said Mobley.

The Center for Retailing Excellence was established in the Walton College in 1998 with a portion of the $50 million endowment from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. The center was created to bridge the gap between university faculty, students and retail industry.