UL Solutions Expands Retail Center of Excellence in Northwest Arkansas

UL Solutions has expanded its Lowell, Arkansas retail lab to integrate softlines and hardlines testing, aiming to improve speed and early risk detection for customers.

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Integrated consumer products testing gives retailers, brands and suppliers a more connected experience while supporting product quality, performance and informed decision-making.

• UL Solutions expanded its Lowell, Arkansas, Retail Center of Excellence by integrating softlines testing for apparel and textiles with hardlines testing for furniture, toys and electronics.
• The Northwest Arkansas laboratory serves retailers, brands, manufacturers and suppliers across major consumer product categories.
• Added capacity and modernized equipment to support earlier risk identification and speed to market.
• The center combines product safety, quality and performance testing with technical expertise and consumer insights.

NORTHBROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UL Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: ULS), a global leader in applied safety science, today announced the expansion of its Retail Center of Excellence in Lowell, Arkansas, where testing of apparel and textile, known as softlines, is now integrated with testing for products such as furniture, toys and electronics, or hardlines.

UL Solutions has expanded its Lowell, Arkansas, Retail Center of Excellence by integrating softlines testing for apparel and textiles with hardlines testing for furniture, toys and electronics.

Located in Northwest Arkansas, the Lowell facility serves a major retail ecosystem where retailers, brands, suppliers and service providers operate in close proximity. The integration of softlines operations gives these customers a more connected testing experience, supported by additional laboratory space, advanced equipment and technical experts across multiple consumer product categories. This approach can help customers identify potential concerns earlier and make well-informed product development and sourcing decisions with access to UL Solutions’ broader expertise and global laboratory network.

“As retailers respond to changing consumer expectations, they need testing solutions that provide speed, connectivity and confidence,” said Alex Dadakis, executive vice president and president of Testing, Inspection and Certification at UL Solutions. “Our expanded Retail Center of Excellence is designed to help customers address concerns earlier and make more informed product decisions.”

Product quality and performance have direct consequences for brand trust. For example, PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey found that 52% of consumers stopped buying from a brand because of a bad experience with its products or services.

UL Solutions works with major retailers, consumer product brands, manufacturers and suppliers to evaluate product safety, quality, performance and sustainability across the product life cycle. Its retail operations combine technical expertise, consumer insights and a connected global laboratory network to help customers identify risk, verify performance and make better-informed product decisions.

The Retail Center of Excellence supports testing and quality assurance across apparel and textiles, home and general merchandise, chemistry, electrical and electronic products, furniture, packaging, toys, children’s products and other retail categories. Its Product Experience Center helps customers gather consumer feedback on product performance, assembly, instructions and usability before production, helping identify potential concerns earlier.

The expansion marks the second phase of the Retail Center of Excellence. The center opened in 2024 as a purpose-built retail and consumer product laboratory designed for speed, scale, flexibility and collaboration.

Learn more about the UL Solutions consumer product testing services.

About UL Solutions

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, advisory offerings and software solutions that support our customers’ product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers’ products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage. Learn more about UL Solutions.

Source Code: ULS-IR

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260917679271/en/

Media:
Kathy Fieweger
Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Communications Officer
Kathy.Fieweger@ul.com
+1 312-852-5156

Investors:
Yijing Brentano
Vice President, Investor Relations
IR@ul.com
+1 312-895-9873

Source: UL Solutions Inc

Key Terms

softlines technical

Softlines are the category of retail goods made from fabrics and flexible materials, such as clothing, footwear, accessories, bedding, and other textile-based items, as opposed to hardlines like electronics or home appliances. For investors, softlines matter because they have distinct sales patterns, inventory needs and margin structures—think of them like perishable fashion seasons versus longer-lived durable goods—so a retailer's exposure to softlines affects its cash flow, forecasting and merchandising risk.

hardlines technical

Hardlines are retail goods that are durable, non-textile items—think tools, home improvement and garden supplies, small appliances, electronics, housewares and sporting equipment—rather than clothing or soft household textiles. Investors track hardlines because they have different sales patterns, inventory needs, margins and supply-chain risks than soft goods; like comparing a toolbox to a wardrobe, changes in hardlines sales can signal shifts in consumer spending, seasonal demand and inventory exposure for a retailer.