Amid retail apocalypse, here’s how Walmart is trying to get thousands of employees excited about the future

By Chip Cutter and Caroline Fairchild

Actor and former football star Terry Crews hosted a sing-along competition. Millennial sensation Julia Michaels graced the stage and performed a two-song interlude. Caramel-flavored M&M's wrapped in mini parachutes dramatically descended from the ceiling.

This, all before 10:30 a.m.

Walmart's annual shareholder week — a three-day corporate pep rally that brings 14,000 employees and investors (along with plenty of reporters) to northwest Arkansas— kicked off Wednesday at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville with executive speeches, celebrity cameos and surprise concerts for the company's U.S. employees.

The event is meant to celebrate the retailer's top workers. Giant on-screen graphics flashed with maxims like: “You are the best of the best.” Many employees leapt to their feet and took photos of executives as they walked on stage.

The tone inside the arena differed wildly from the headlines dominating retail recently. Nearly 90,000 Americans in the industry have lost their jobs in the past six months. Store closures, meanwhile, are on pace this year to eclipse those during the depths of the Great Recession.

This reality hardly seemed to impact Walmart’s attempt to get thousands of its workers across the country excited for what’s to come. Executives told employees that the company's strategy is working. Its most recent earnings surpassed analyst expectations, driven by stronger online sales, even as it faces continued threats from Amazon and new competition from European grocers entering the U.S.

A look at some of the highlights from the first day of festivities:

The crowd of employees — from locations as varied as Lafayette, Colo. to New Braunfels, Texas — lined the walls of the stadium in matching baby blue t-shirts. Walmart typically pays to fly in about one associate per store from its 4,672 U.S. locations in addition to the 27 other countries where it operates. Store managers select participants; a spokeswoman says they represent the "best of our associates."

Walmart chief operating officer Judith McKenna was among the first to hit the stage with a speech that largely focused on the role humans play in retail. In conversations about robots and automation taking jobs, "something gets lost," she said. "It's the true and simple power of humanity, the power of one." Her message: Human workers still matter at the nation's largest private employer.

Walmart’s chief merchandising officer, Steve Bratspies, then explained items he expects to be big sellers later this year. Among them: giant vats of Elmer’s glue, a key ingredient in the viral kid toy of DIY slime; and $19.97 light-up Flashlight sneakers (below), a back-to-school item he estimates could generate $25 million in sales for the company. He told employees that they needed to be "item merchants" and asked for their help in hitting sales goals for the products.

The demonstrations continued. Bratspies predicted that a new caramel flavor of M&M's would resonate with consumers. On cue, mini packages of the candies then descended from the ceiling. One woman near us cheered as she grabbed one.

Look out! Pool party in Aisle 15! Bratspies then discussed the audacious pool floats, starting at $14.95, that began to hit the stage. Walmart is predicting that thousands of Americans will relax in their backyards on rainbow unicorns, melting popsicles, watermelon slices and pink flamingos this year.

Walmart's U.S president and CEO, Greg Foran, then outlined what is seen as a central prong in its strategy to counter Amazon: giving consumers easier ways to buy online and pick up items at its stores. "If we are really, really good at that, that's probably the single biggest advantage we're going to have,” Foran said.

Echoing the applause of the morning, associates erupted in delight when actor Terry Crews made a surprise appearance. Hosting “Walmart Associates' Game Day,” Crews led both executives and employees through a sing-along competition that was equal parts awkward and entertaining.

Special shout out to “DJ BO” Woloszyn for his sweet spinning of everything from Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” to The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg.”

Singer Julia Michaels then appeared for a cameo to perform her hit single “Issues” as well as a new song that has yet to be released.

McKenna, the company's operating chief, then came back to tell everyone to check under their seats for a surprise. Ending where she began with the importance of customer service to Walmart’s future, McKenna gave each associate two smiley pins. Her hope is that the metal decoration will keep associates grinning — and customers happy — even after the week is over.

The meeting came to a close with McKenna leading the group in Walmart’s infamous cheer: “On your feet! Give me a W-A-L — squiggly! — M-A-R-T. What’s that spell? Walmart!”

The Script’s “Hall of Fame” played as people walked out. The lyrics — “Standing in the hall of fame / And the world's gonna know your name” — mirrored the upbeat tone from executives. One employee, grocery manager Carol Hager, a first-time attendee, told us outside the arena that she found the event empowering. “I bleed blue,” she said. Retail, with its many challenges, didn’t seem so gloomy.