This year, we chose the theme “Level Up: Scale, Empower, Innovate” as the central focus for our 2021 company goals. This phrase encapsulates our vision to continually improve and push beyond expectations. Goals set around this theme will involve company growth, enhanced product offerings, sustainability, diversity & inclusion, and more. Each word chosen is significant to where we see ourselves in the year ahead. 

SCALE. For the past view years, Walker Edison has won awards for being one of the fastest growing companies in Utah. Most recently placing 4th on the Utah Business Fast 50 list. Moving forward, we want to scale our core business and not just grow. Scaling is the process and backbone that allows for continual growth. For us, it entails investments into category & product expansion, high growth-potential partners, EU expansion, expansion of our factories and distribution centers, and more investments for data, systems and technology. 

EMPOWER. In 2020, our theme was Engage, Empower, Inspire. We carried the theme of empower over because of the difference setting it as a company standard made. Investing into more training and resources will continue to empower our employees to reach their full potential. This part of the theme also includes goal setting, accountability, and continual diversity & inclusion efforts.   

INNOVATE. The future is bright! The rapid growth of Ecommerce due to the global pandemic has caused us to move up our strategies and future innovation plans. We are giving our employees the opportunity to solve problems where they stand and look for ways to improve systems and processes. This also includes innovation in sustainability so we can increasingly become more sustainable as a global operation. 
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As this past year has taught us, we can’t predict the future. Moving into 2021 with this theme helps us really capture the vision of the future no matter what comes our way. We are ready to level up!  

Last year I was lucky enough to be a part of putting our company Core Values down on paper and introducing them to the team as something we can rally around and use to drive decisions. As we discussed our thoughts and options for what Walker Edison’s values should be, our CEO Brad Bonham spoke up and said something I had heard him say many times before. He said, “giving back is at the core of everything we do.” We all agreed that “WE Give” should be at the top of our list. 

Walker Edison’s focus on giving back has been apparent to me since my first day at the company. After my first few weeks, I was asked to join a team that included people from each department who were working on a proclamation event for a Wish Kid with Make-A-Wish Utah.

The child loved dancing and had always wanted to be a Jazz Dancer. At the time I was shooting photos for the Utah Jazz, and so I was asked if I had any connections with the dancers so that we could have her proclamation read at a game. We were able to put together a beautiful night for this little girl and her family that included her attending practice and pre-game prep with the dancers as well as dancing during player intros! At halftime, her uncle was able to read her proclamation over the PA system and a video with her story was played for everyone at the game to see. Having a small part in helping this little girl’s wish granted was something I will never forget.

When I think about giving, I think about the leaders of Walker Edison. A few months ago, I was driving in the car with my 13-year-old son who had just started Junior High. He was telling me about how his school has Pantry Packs that kids who do not have enough food can take home to eat. He was saddened to learn that his classmates may not have enough to eat, but so happy that the school has resources to make sure the kids don’t go hungry.

As we continued our conversation, I told him that Walker Edison donates money every year to help Cyprus High School with their Pirate Pantry that is just like what they have at his school. He immediately said, “Brad and Matt do that?” He has interacted with many of the leaders in our company and to put a face to the donations for a cause he was personally interested in was fascinating to him. He started thinking of ways he could help because he was inspired by their giving attitudes. I love working for a company that the leaders are an example of doing good in the community and I love being able to share those experiences with my family.

Something that cannot be overlooked when it comes to giving as a company are the amazing bonds that are built among co-workers who serve together. One of my favorite projects we do regularly as an entire company is packaging meals for Rise Against Hunger. What I love about this project is we ALL get to do it together. Over the years I have had opportunities to work next to people who I did not know at all prior to the project (working at a growing company is hard sometimes) and now I have a good working relationship with them. By having these projects span across departments, open communication across teams and a strong company culture grows.

“WE Give” is now written down officially as Walker Edison’s number one core value, but it goes beyond those words. For me, every time I see our core values, I think of the experiences I have had since day one. I think of all the charitable service opportunities that have affected the members of our own community and changed lives. I am proud to be a part of a company that prioritizes serving others.

​Salt Lake City — Walker Edison CEO, Brad Bonham, and President, Joana McKenna, have both been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.
 
Both Brad and Joana were vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of their experiences. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.
 
“We are honored to welcome both Brad Bonham and Joana McKenna into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”
 
As accepted members of the Council, they will have access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help them reach peak professional influence. They will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum and at members-only events. Brad and Joana will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share their expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.
Finally, they will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team.
 
“I am honored for the chance to join so many incredible leaders on the Forbes Business Council,” said Joana McKenna, “The value of joining this community of business leaders is immense, and I look forward to the opportunities it will have to help me give back to the community as well as help add to the success of Walker Edison.”
 
“This is a great opportunity for Walker Edison as we continue to have accelerated growth as an organization,” said Walker Edison CEO Brad Bonham, “We are looking forward to interacting with other business leaders and giving back to this community as much as we can.”
 
 
ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS
Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.
To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.
 
ABOUT WALKER EDISON
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.​

SALT LAKE CITY – Walker Edison, a leading provider of RTA furniture, recently added four new key hires to their team as they continue to grow and expand as a company. 

Said Walker Edison President Joana McKenna of these new hires, “We are continuing to drive growth as an organization by prioritizing the customer experience, improving our partner experience, embedding operational excellence, and accelerating growth. These additions to our growing team will help us achieve these internal goals and continue to succeed as a company.” 

To help with the priority of transforming the customer experience, they have turned Customer Service into its own department and appointed Olivia Frere as the Director of Customer Service. Olivia Frere has worked customer service for nearly 10 years; she has learned that the most important part of her job is how the customer feels when they hang up the phone or sign off an email. Olivia is a people person who thrives on making an impact and creating long-lasting relationships. She enjoys creating those positive experiences both professionally and personally. 

Erika Henderson has also recently been appointed as Walker Edison’s Head of Design Development. Erika leads both the Design and Product management teams, which includes collaboration with Sales, Strategy, Supply Chain and Marketing. Erika is an innovative, enthusiastic creative, offering extensive experience in product design, development, sourcing, merchandising and interiors. Erika has spent 20 years designing and developing furniture, lighting, and accessories for retailers including Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids/Teen, Smith & Hawken, Pier 1, Costco, Target, and Crate & Barrel. She is focused on designing and delivering high-end home furnishings within all areas of the home, throughout every stage of life. 

Sharat Alankar is joining Walker Edison in the newly created role of Vice President of Strategy & Analytics. Sharat will lead the strategy of Walker Edison’s corporate business, including assortment strategy, new business development, operational excellence, project management and analytics. Sharat is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied Electrical Engineering. He began his career in finance at JP Morgan before co-founding Origin, a fintech marketplace based in London. Most recently he led Marketplace Strategy, Operations & Enablement at Walmart eCommerce, where he also held positions leading Analytics & Business Intelligence and Corporate Incubation.
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Walker Edison has also added a new position to their organization, General Manager of Retail Operations. They have appointed Joshua Bradley to fill this role. Joshua is an experienced professional in building out retail stores, and at his last position built out over 32 stores across the United States. Joshua will be in charge of the only brick-and-mortar aspect of Walker Edison, the storefront warehouse attached to their corporate headquarters in West Jordan, Utah. 
 
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SALT LAKE CITY – Walker Edison recently completed an 20,000 square foot photo and video studio as part of their new corporate headquarters.

Paul Asay, Head of Marketing at Walker Edison said of the new studio, “We believe in the power of visual content here at Walker Edison; and the investment into this new state-of-the-art studio shows our dedication to being industry leaders in visual content.”

Lance Ferguson, VP of Sales, shared, “As an ecommerce company, visual content is directly connected to how well our product sells. This new studio will allow us to continue growing and bettering that content to support our growth in sales. We are thrilled to see our products thrive and sell even better with the advancements and tools that the team is being given.”

This new studio will provide the space needed to keep up with the company’s rapid growth and increase efficiency, as it allows up to 7 full-time photo and video teams to work simultaneously.

 “The studio was designed by our in-house photographers and stylists,” said Visual Content Manager Alexis Hansen, “Having them be the designers led to a space that will directly meet our needs as well as those of our e-commerce partners and their customers. It seamlessly highlights Walker Edison products as it was built specifically to showcase everything from side tables to TV stands to King size beds.”

Each detail of the new studio allows for improvements to content quality along with efficiency. With no natural light in the studio, the team maintains 100% control of lighting, which ultimately leads to better visual content. Video content and photography can be created in the same rooms due to the fixed walls throughout the studio. There are 17 rooms, 4 full kitchens with movable islands, a 22x20 foot seamless cyc wall, and 2 indoor patios. Each room has different flooring and is designed to contain 3-5 different "looks" to accommodate different styles for various partners and social media outlets. This goal is supported through the smallest details including real brick, kitchen cabinets, window nooks, doors, and versatile window frames. These details also help to provide realistic, in-home looking content.

Brad Bonham, Walker Edison CEO said of the new studio, “This is the third photo studio we have built since starting Walker Edison, and they continue to get better each time. We look at the trends and data and seek the input of our content and marketing teams when making these decisions. This was a big investment, but well worth it to continue producing industry-leading content.”

Joana McKenna, President of Walker Edison also said of the new studio, “We see the value in visual content as it relates to the success of Walker Edison, and as such we want to give our marketing team all the resources they need to succeed. We are thrilled to open this new studio and provide them with the tools needed to continue to grow and advance the quality of our visual content.”

Walker Edison is excited to launch this new photography and videography studio as an integral part of their business and beautiful addition to their corporate headquarters located in West Jordan, Utah.
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About Walker Edison:
​Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.​

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For more information contact:
Brittany Smart, Public Relations Specialist 
brittany.smart@walkeredison.com ​

SALT LAKE CITY – Walker Edison, a leading provider of RTA furniture, announced a recall today involving two of their drawer chest products.

Walker Edison values the safety and wellbeing of all their customers and strives to provide the best service for their customers and want to be proactive about ensuring they have the highest quality products in their homes. They have voluntarily launched this recall.

No incidents or injuries have been reported. However, there are concerns that the drawers may be unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, potentially causing tip-over and entrapment hazards.

The following products for safety concerns:

• Spencer 4-Drawer Chest with SKU Numbers: BR4DDRCA, BR4DDRWH, BR4DDRWT
• Chest of Drawers with SKU Numbers: BR3DMILDRDW, BR3DMILDRSG

For additional information you can visit www.walkeredison.com/recall
To view the full recall notice by CPSC please click here. 


​
About Walker Edison:
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.
 
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brittany Smart, Public Relations Specialist
brittany.smart@walkeredison.com
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Last Wednesday, October 28th was a historic day for Walker Edison as we held our first-ever Women of Walker Edison Leadership Summit!

The virtual summit started with a morning yoga class and breakfast provided by Sweet Bottom Bakes. It was then followed by 3 incredible sessions on various topics related to female leadership and women in e-commerce with guest speakers Patricia Jones, Melissa Burdick, and our very own Joana McKenna. During lunch, Neelam Chand gave our keynote address about the power of storytelling and empathetic listening while participants enjoyed their lunch provided be another local company, Crust Club. There was even a floral arrangement class held towards the end of the Summit by local florist Sticks & Stems.

All our employees were invited, including all genders. All who registered for the summit were sent food, branded swag, a yoga mat, and all supplies needed for the floral arrangement class.

It was a great day that started a lot of incredible conversations as well as action plans. This is only the beginning as it kicks off Walker Edison's participation in the ElevateHER challenge, and also begins our Women of Walker Edison committee.

​Each year, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development hosts the Utah Economic Summit — a one-day event where the state’s best and brightest business leaders gather to discuss economic development trends and topics.

This year, our CEO Brad Bonham was a featured speaker on a panel on "How Utah Brands Have Adjusted To Our New Economic Reality". The event was held virtually, so you can watch a recording of that session in the video below. 

​To learn more about the Summit, you can visit UtahEconomicAndEnergySummit.com

SALT LAKE CITY – MountainWest Capital Network (MWCN) announced Walker Edison as the 8th fastest growing company in Utah during their virtual award ceremony yesterday. 

The Utah 100 event recognizes one hundred of the fastest growing companies in Utah, and companies are ranked according to a weighted average calculation of percentage and dollar growth. This year’s ranking shows Walker Edison’s recent growth as they were awarded 18th in 2019.  Walker Edison was also recognized as a MWCN Utah 100 company in 2014, 2018, and 2019.

The full list of Utah 100 winners can be found at www.mwcn.org/utah-100/.   



About Walker Edison:
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, we strive to cultivate a culture that inspires our customers to Live Outside the Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker Edison is a global organization with operations in Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brittany Smart, Public Relations Specialist
brittany.smart@walkeredison.com