Firms get deal to sell at Walmart, Sam's
More than 330 businesses that pitched their products to Walmart and Sam's Club buyers at Wednesday's Open Call got a deal to sell the items either in stores, at Walmart.com or on Walmart's Marketplace.
Walmart Inc. said Friday that preliminary results also showed that business owners representing another 280 products are in ongoing talks with merchants for potential future deals.
More than 1,100 businesses made pitches for their products, all of which are made, grown or assembled in the U.S. Finalists were selected out of more than 4,500 entrepreneurs who applied for the ninth annual event.
The finalists represented all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and nearly 60% self-identify as diverse-owned businesses. All finalists had the option to meet with Walmart officials virtually or in person at the David Glass Technology Center in Bentonville.
Walmart said Open Call is its largest sourcing event, helping the retailer move toward its 2013 commitment to invest $250 billion over 20 years in products made or sourced in the U.S. In March 2021, the company pledged another $350 billion over 10 years.
-- Serenah McKay
Entergy taking bids in wind, solar effort
Entergy Arkansas is opening a bid process beginning Tuesday for proposals to provide 1,000 megawatts of solar and wind generation resources, emissions-free renewables that can provide cost-effective energy supply, capacity and fuel diversity for the state's largest electric utility.
"Entergy Arkansas has a commitment to providing our customers with low-cost, reliable energy as well as more renewable generation," said Kurt Castleberry, director of resource planning and marketing operations.
Resources would be procured through a combination of one or more build-own-transfer agreements, self-build alternatives or one or more power-purchase agreements that would be in operation between May 2025 and December 2026.
Solar facilities would be required to be within the Entergy Arkansas service territory, while wind resources could be located anywhere in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) or Southwest Power Pool footprints.
Bidding registration closes July 11. More information is available at https://bit.ly/3ntJaea
-- Andrew Moreau
Index ends day flat with 706.98 finish
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 706.98, down 0.55.
Shares of Murphy USA Inc. rose 1.7% on Friday. For the week, America's Car-Mart shares fell 5.3% and Dillard's Inc. shares fell 19.2%.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.