Girl Scouts of the USA is meeting families where they shop the most, bringing its DreamLab experiential concept into more Walmart Supercenter stores across the US.
Located right at the front of the stores they’re in, DreamLabs feature areas where kids can practice their camping skills (with fake fire pits and tents), rock climbing walls, meeting spaces for troops, hands-on STEM centers, podcast recording booths, 3D printing stations and more.
GSUSA just opened its seventh DreamLab in an Albany, Georgia Walmart Supercenter yesterday. The goal of these spaces is to reach more kids, have a bigger impact, and make the Girl Scouting experience relevant and exciting for modern families, said CEO Bonnie Barczykowski at the ribbon-cutting for the first DreamLab in Denver, Colarado a year and a half ago.
Although the Girls Scouts have been in existence for over a century, the youth organization is facing a significant challenge when it comes to recruiting and retaining members. More than a million kids and teens were registered in 2023, according to GSUSA’s annual report for that year. But that’s a huge drop from 2.3 million members a decade ago in 2013.
Despite the challenge of this ongoing decline in participation, the organization actually had a stronger year in 2023, with gross profits from merchandise up 3% to US$20.6 million compared to 2022. And its total operating revenue increased from US$116 million to US$119.3 million year over year.