International on the Square : Associates experience Wal-Mart story

By Jeff Mores Staff Writer // jeffm@nwanews.com

Posted on Wednesday, June 4, 2008

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BENTONVILLE — Leticia Lorensse and a group of more than 200 other people filed off several charter buses just north of the downtown Bentonville Square on Tuesday. Lorensse’s eyes widened as she spotted a Brazilian flag waving among the sea of colors one block away. And directly across the street — there it was. A smile spread across her face as she scrambled to locate the camera in her backpack.

“ I’m excited to come here because I get to experience what Wal-Mart is. I get to see where Wal-Mart came from and experience it. ”

Of the 70, 000 associates who work at Wal-Mart’s Brazilian central office, stores, distribution centers and more, Lorensse was one of just 215 selected to travel to northwest Arkansas to be a part of the annual Shareholders Week festivities. Being selected was a shock in itself, but then she was standing on the downtown Bentonville Square, staring at the original Walton 5 & 10 through the viewfinder on her camera.

“ It’s an honor to be here, ” said Lorensse, who works in Wal-Mart’s legal department in the southern portion of Brazil. “ There are a lot of people in Brazil who want to come here and experience this. It feels strange to be standing here instead of reading about it and seeing pictures on the Internet. ”

The downtown Bentonville Square was hopping Tuesday morning — and will continue to be through the end of the week as Shareholders Week is officially under way. The flags of every country Wal-Mart does business in were flapping in the wind on the west end of the Square, and busloads of representatives from each of those countries will be touring the Wal-Mart Visitors Center and exploring the area.

On Tuesday, it was Brazil, Japan, England and others. The groups — each wearing their color-coordinated Tshirts — spilled in and out of the Visitors Center, posed in front of the Confederate-soldier statue at the center of the Square and wandered around the downtown area taking video and photographs of anything and everything they came across. The fountain on the Square is always a favorite spot for photos, but odds are more photographs were taken there Tuesday than in the rest of the year combined.

“ I remember when my dad ran the old Roy’s Office Supply store, people were always coming in a panic looking for batteries for their cameras during Shareholders Week, ” said Tiffany Norwood, who spent Tuesday morning watching the activity on the Square through the window of the School Squared store. “ My grandfather was Roy Scoggins, who started Roy’s (Office Supply ), so I was always here. The last year the store was open, we finally did bring in disposable cameras to sell. That’s the biggest thing going on out there. Look at everyone taking photos. ”

After snapping off their photos and checking out their respective country’s display inside the Visitors Center, many of the international associates spent time wandering around the downtown area.

“ I’ve been to the states before — Florida and California — but this place is very beautiful, ” said Jeff Averre, who works in a Wal-Mart distribution center in England. “ I always thought the old Walton store would be just down the street from the Home Office, and the warehouses would be closer together. It’s much more spread out around this city than I thought it would be.

“ I was curious to see what the people here would be like. These people are totally different from the impression we get on television. People are so friendly. Even people walking around by the street, they’ll say hello. It’s so nice to be accepted by everyone. ”

Averre spent the majority of his stop in downtown Bentonville taking photos of the various churches and historic buildings. Watching visitors like Averre is something Gene Wolf, owner of Gene’s Barber Shop at 111 W. Central Ave., enjoys most about Shareholders Week.

“ For me, this week actually brings my business to a crawl, but I keep the doors open because I enjoy being here and seeing all the activity, ” Wolf said as he stood in his doorway. “ Every year, there are international visitors who want to come inside my shop and see what it looks like. Most of them saw the magazine at the Visitors Center that said Sam (Walton ) used to get his hair cut in this barber shop. ”

“ We got here yesterday, and I think most people like it a lot, ” said Fabio Freitas, a visiting associate from Brazil. “ It’s small, but it’s so clean and beautiful. The government takes care of this place. Getting to be here is a special thing for us. ”

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