Applications are open for Walmart’s annual Open Call, and the company invites Florida entrepreneurs dreaming of landing their products on its shelves and online to apply for the opportunity to meet with Walmart buyers on June 30, via virtual pitch meetings.
“Open Call is like watching the American Dream play out in real-time,” said Laura Phillips, Walmart senior vice president for Global Sourcing & US Manufacturing. “You see on full display the spirit and energy of new ideas and the hope of what could be – founded on creativity, hard work, and self-belief. It’s inspiring. Walmart’s announcement earlier this month to spend an additional $350 billion on products made, grown or assembled in America makes Open Call even more exciting and important. We know how much this opportunity means to small businesses, and we can’t wait to see the new product submissions from potential new suppliers.”
On March 3, Walmart announced a new commitment to spend an additional $350 billion on items made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. It’s estimated that this spend will support more than 750,000 new American jobs. Walmart’s Open Call is one way in which the company supports this commitment.
The June 30 virtual event will include one-on-one pitch meetings with Walmart merchants and participants will have an opportunity to hear directly from Walmart executives at the hour-long kickoff of the event. Smaller breakout sessions will be available throughout the day where suppliers can learn more on valuable topics and about resources available to them.
This year’s Open Call attendees could secure opportunities that range from promoting products in a handful of stores in local markets to supplying products to hundreds, even thousands, of Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs and online.
The deadline to apply is April 30. The application and additional information about the event are available here.
