The Council for Retail and Sales (CRS), housed at DeSales University, hosts up to two collegiate case competitions each year. The fall 2024 competition was held on October 31, 2024 and was sponsored by Walmart. A team from Bloomsburg University took 1st place. The winning team was led by faculty advisor Dr. Tom Tanner and consisted of students Lauren Spallone, Alexis Urbassik, and Melissa Tuttle.
Walmart is one of the biggest retailers in the world, with the company and its subsidiaries employing approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. The company has been a consistently generous sponsor of the CRS and the topic that was presented to the students this semester was: How to Reduce Shrinkage in Stores. Retail theft not only impacts their profits but also impacts the customer experience in various ways. Walmart was seeking new ideas on how to approach the rise in retail theft. Student teams were tasked with creating ideas for new programs or activities that Walmart can implement at the store level without significantly impacting sales and profits.
Eight teams from the following universities competed – DeSales University, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Penn State Abington, Penn State Scranton, and Bloomsburg University.
Nicole Everett, CRS board member and Walmart Market Manager for the Northeast, brought at least ten Walmart store managers and representatives to the competition to hear the student presentations first-hand.
“The level of involvement from Walmart is fantastic,” said Elaine Thode, Director of the CRS. “They consistently come back and bring more and more associates each year which speaks volumes to how beneficial they view this event.”
The 1st place winning prize was $1200 and 2nd place prize was $400. The competition was judged on a written executive summary and an in-person presentation to a panel of judges. A team from Penn State Lehigh Valley led by Dr. Denise Ogden and comprised of Ana Mercado, Mahika Chatterjee, and Rajashri Shreya Kokila Sakthivelkumar took 2nd place.
Due to a faculty sabbatical, there will be no challenge in spring 2025 but stay tuned for the fall 2025 challenge, scheduled for October 30, 2025. Participation is open to undergraduates from any college or university. Check thecrs.org or follow CRS on Facebook for more information.